Children three through six years of age were asked to imitate actions depicted in photographs to determine whether they could interpret information of action in photographs. Twenty children at each of four age levels, 3, 4, 5, and 6 years, were asked to imitate two photos, each showing a young child performing a physical action. Following this…

Investigates ability of nine-month-old infants to imitate simple actions with novel objects. Looks at both immediate and deferred imitation. Findings show that imitation in early infancy can span wide enough delays to be of potential service in social development. (Author/RWB)

It is proposed that in studying the development of children's speech, the findings in the data are heavily influenced by what is expected to be found on the basis of our theoretical preconceptions. This phenomenon is actually more widespread than has previously been acknowledged, and our expectations about how children learn language may have to…