Human children copy others' actions with high fidelity, supporting early cultural learning and assisting in the development and maintenance of behavioral traditions [1]. Imitation has long been assumed to occur from birth [2-4], with influential theories (e.g., [5-7]) placing an innate imitation module at the foundation of social cognition (potentially underpinned by a mirror neuron system [8, 9]). Yet, the very phenomenon of neonatal imitation has remained controversial. Empirical support is mixed and interpretations are varied [10-16], potentially because previous investigations have relied heavily on cross-sectional designs with relatively small samples and with limited controls [17, 18]. Here, we report surprising results from the most comprehensive longitudinal study of neonatal imitation to date. We presented infants (n = 106) with nine social and two non-social models and scored their responses at 1, 3, 6, and 9 weeks of age. Longitudinal analyses indicated that the infants did not imitate any of the models, as they were just as likely to produce the gestures in response to control models as they were to matching models. Previous positive findings were replicated in limited cross-sections of the data, but the overall analyses confirmed these findings to be mere artifacts of restricted comparison conditions. Our results undermine the idea of an innate imitation module and suggest that earlier studies reporting neonatal imitation were methodologically limited.

Humans depend greatly on our cooperative relationships. Thus, when our relationships are damaged by transgressions, they need to be repaired. Such repair requires that the transgressor show remorse and the victim forgive. Previous research demonstrates that as transgressors, young children show remorse and attempt to repair the harm they caused. However, it remains unclear when children, as victims, forgive remorseful transgressors. In Study 1, 5-, but not 4-year-olds, (n = 20 each) were more forgiving of a remorseful transgressor (who did not explicitly apologize) than an unremorseful transgressor. In Study 2, 4-year-olds (n = 20) were more forgiving of an apologetic than unapologetic transgressor. Thus, from early in ontogeny, humans are motivated to repair damaged relationships and thus uphold cooperation.

To assess claims about developmental homologies, or devologies, longitudinal data are needed. Here, we illustrate this with the debate about the purported foundational role of neonatal imitation in children's social and cognitive development. Cross-sectional studies over the past 35 years have clarified neither the prevalence of imitation in newborns nor its relationships to later developing skills. Thus, scholars have been able to maintain diametrically opposing explanations of neonatal imitation in the literature. Here, we discuss this issue and outline how large-scale longitudinal approaches promise to resolve such debates and have the potential to use individual difference measures to uncover links to later development.

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The present study reports on the first evaluation of a parenting intervention utilizing a smartphone app, BabyMind. The intervention aimed to facilitate mothers’ mind-mindedness —attunement to their infants’ internal states. Mothers in the intervention group ( n = 90) used the BabyMind app from their infants’ births and were followed up at age 6 months ( n = 66). Mothers in the control group ( n = 151) were recruited when their infants were age 6 months and had never used the BabyMind app. Mind-mindedness when interacting with their infants was significantly higher in intervention group mothers than in control group mothers. The intervention was equally effective in facilitating mind-mindedness in young and older mothers. These findings are discussed in terms of the potential for interventions utilizing smartphone apps to improve parenting and children’s developmental outcome in vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups.

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The tendency for children to overimitate and conform to unanimous majorities is pervasive. Here we tested whether social factors are powerful enough to lead children to overcome this tendency and contrast their behavior to that of others. In one condition, children were shown a video of three out-group members performing the same action on a novel toy. In this condition, 5-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds, were significantly more likely to produce the contrasting action than the action demonstrated by the group. On the other hand, children who saw the same actions performed by neutral individuals typically matched their actions to those of the group regardless of their age. By demonstrating that 5-year-olds actively contrast their behavior to that of out-group members, these results provide an important comparison with previous research on imitation and conformity and demonstrate the profound influence that social motivations exert over children's copying behavior.

Forgiveness helps to repair relationships and thus helps maintain cooperation. Might forgiveness also convey to others that the forgiver is a valuable cooperation partner? We propose that if victims' forgiveness displays have evolved as important social cues that help uphold cooperation, then even young children might respond positively to forgiveness displays. In a preregistered study, 4-and 5-year-olds (n ϭ 20 per age group) watched videos of transgressions in which the victim either forgave or did not forgive the transgressor. As predicted, 5-year-olds robustly preferred the forgiver, expected the transgressor to like the forgiver more, and thought the nonforgiver would be more likely to transgress in the future. Four-year-olds did not show these effects as consistently. Both age groups distributed more resources to the forgiving victim. Thus, from an early age, forgiveness displays convey key information to others about the forgiver and may therefore help to repair relationships and promote cooperation.