Copy me – imitation and learning

When you're chatting with your baby, do you notice them moving their mouth or trying out some different facial expressions? They might copy some of your expressions. There is some debate among scientists about if babies copy from birth, or if this is a skill they develop. You don’t need to know the exact moment your baby starts to copy you, but it might be interesting to know how much they learn through imitation.^[1][2]

Copying and learning about people

What scientists agree on is that imitation is an important part of your baby’s learning. Copying other people will support your baby’s social and emotional development, as it is a step towards understanding that other people have different thoughts.    

Language and imitation

Copying will support your baby’s language as they listen to and watch you speak and use this information to explore the sounds that they can make.   

Watch me first 

Imitation is also an important part of cognitive development – not only does your baby begin to develop their memory and copy things sometimes after seeing them, they also watch your actions and how you use objects. 

You might notice them copying your actions later (just think of the TikTok trend where people give babies their stuff and see what they do).

What is really amazing (and sometimes a bit scary!) when you think about it, is that your baby is learning from you all the time. So, they watch what you do and as their skills develop will copy what you do and say, as they learn about the people and things around them. 

References:

[1] Oostenbroek J, Suddendorf T, Nielsen M, Redshaw J, Kennedy-Costantini S, Davis J, Slaughter V (2016). Comprehensive longitudinal study challenges the existence of neonatal imitation in humans. Current Biology, 26, 1334–1338 

[2] Heyes (2016). Imitation not in our genes. Current biology. 26 R408-R431.  Available at: Imitation: Not in Our Genes | Elsevier Enhanced Reader (Accessed 5th October 2021)