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En el ámbito de la Psicología del Desarrollo, la imitación infantil ha sido un tema ampliamente estudiado, fundamentalmente, por su vinculación con la capacidad simbólica. Sin embargo, en los últimos 50 años su abordaje teórico y metodológico se ha diversificado profundamente.
Se ha provocado un giro en cómo conceptualizar la imitación, desde un enfoque individual que destaca su valor en el desarrollo cognitivo y simbólico, hasta uno que entiende que la imitación infantil y los efectos de ser imitado están estrechamente vinculados con el desarrollo de las habilidades sociales y de la comunicación.
El presente artículo recorre este giro partiendo de una breve presentación de la perspectiva de la imitación en la teoría piagetiana, la cual destaca el valor epigenético de esta capacidad en la formación simbólica del niño. Luego, se sintetizan los resultados obtenidos en los estudios sobre imitación neonatal, imitación en interacciones espontáneas adulto-bebé, interacciones entre pares y los efectos de ser imitado.
En conjunto, estos datos permitieron reconceptualizar la capacidad de imitación, destacando su aspecto social y su función en el establecimiento de las primeras conexiones interpersonales entre el bebé y sus congéneres. Con vistas a construir una teoría integradora, se propone concebir a ambos enfoques como complementarios y entender a la imitación como una actividad que permite establecer coincidencias interpersonales, las cuales generan algún tipo de encuentro intersubjetivo que sirve para vehiculizar distintas funciones de acuerdo al contexto de interacción.
Infant imitation is a controversial topic that has been widely studied in the field of developmental psychology. In the last decades, since Piagetian theory of infant imitation, the research on it has been revolutionized. This article intends to review a set of studies on imitation in early infancy that have caused a change in the understanding of this phenomenon.
In this review, Piaget’s description of the development of imitation and itsrelationship to sym- bolic formation are set as a starting point. Piaget’s theory has made an essential contribution to the study of imitation: it highlightsitsimportance in development of symbolic function; it stimulated the realization of numerous longitudinal studies, promoted the development of techniques and observation systems for its evaluation in psychology labs, and led to the generation of different assessment scales of psycho-motor child development.
However, experimental studies that demonstrated the ability of imitation in newborns have questioned Piagetian developmental theory of imitation and they revolutionized the understanding of the phenomenon. Data on neonatal imitation, which have received different theoretical interpretations, bring out that certain intra and intersensory coordination exist from the first month of life; that the capacity for imitation isselective; that itssequence of development is different from that proposed by Piaget and shows different evolutionary paths depending on the act in question. Beyond experimental studies, early imitation has also been studied in natural contexts. The data show that during the first two years of life, imitation is a frequent pattern of social interaction between adult and baby, providing a pleasant experience to both participants.
In that context, imitation is not only bi-directional, but it is the adult who imitated more frequently.
Such data suggest that the ability to imitate actions does not appear in development as a product of an exclusively individual process; but, on the contrary, is a capacity that gradually emergesin the context of social patterns of baby-adult reciprocity as a result of the communicative intentions of the latter.
Also, imitation is an important relationship tool when the participantsinteracting are similar in age.
There are several studies showing that young children use imitation as a basic way to interact and develop social and communication links between them, as well as to coordinate playful actions.
Finally, experimentalstudies on the effects of being imitated indicate that adult imitation facilitates social interaction with the baby during the first two years of life. It causes greater visual attention from the baby, and more frequent smiles than a spontaneous interaction. Even it has been observed that babies are able to monitor adult imitation, testing it by modulating their behavior (for example,sudden stops orsudden changesin the direction of their behavior).
Data from studies on neonatal imitation, spontaneousimitation in adult-baby interactions, peer interactions and the effects of being imitated have allowed reconceptualizing imitation, highlighting the social aspect and itsrole in the establishment of the first interpersonal connections between the baby and its congeners. All these new empirical evidence highlights the value of imitation in the establishment ofsocial interactionsin the early years of a child´s life, beyond their cognitive function of accommodation.
In order to construct an integrative theory of imitation, it is proposed to conceive imitation as a matching activity through which emerges a social engagement that might serve to convey different functions according to the context of social interaction.
It issuggested to carry out new longitudinal studiesthat investigate the contexts of interaction in which imitation events emerge, as well as the integration of the results of neurocognitive studies and Comparative Psychology
