Mikael Heimann – författare

Imitation och vår förmåga att lära genom observation utgör ofta förbisedda redskap för inlärning, social utveckling och kulturell överföring. En stor del av vårt lärande sker faktiskt inte via språket utan i stället är imitation och observation de potenta krafterna bakom barns lärande och utveckling. Redan ett tre månader gammalt barn lär sig genom observation, och imitation och minne kan till exempel kopplas till den tidiga språk- och kommunikationsförmågan. Spädbarnets förmåga att härma är också kopplad till social kompetens. Imitation och observationsförmåga är alltså viktigt för barns utveckling och dessa förmågor formar oss från den allra första början och fortsatt genom livet. I den här boken presenteras ett utvecklingspsykologisk-pedagogiskt perspektiv med fokus på den sociala, kognitiva och emotionella utvecklingen. Boken ger bland annat en fördjupad förståelse av hur barns minnes- och inlevelseförmåga utvecklas liksom hur deras temperament (personlighet) påverkar inlärningsförmågan.  

Regression periods play a central role in the psychological development of the human baby. Studies of infants have identified 10 periods of regression, or a return to a high frequency of mother-infant contact, within the first 20 months of life. These periods of emotional insecurity in the child signal forthcoming periods of developmental advance and the emergence of an array of new skills as a consequence of parent-infant conflict over body contact and the renegotiation of old privileges. Although the basic idea in this book is an old one, the authors believe that regression periods deserve further study and have identified four questions of central importance today: *Can the phenomenon of regression periods as found by Dutch researchers in 1992 be replicated in other countries and cultures? *What environmental conditions have an effect on these regression periods and how? *Are there physical conditions in infants that show a non-linear distribution over age similar to regression periods? *Have brain changes been detected since the review of Fischer & Rose (1994) at other ages than the six reported by them, and, if yes, how do these relate to the ages at which regression periods are found? Forming the core of this book, the replication studies performed in Sweden, Spain, and England provide support that regression periods are a rreliable phenomenon and should be dealt with accordingly whenever developmental processes in infancy are discussed.

Regression periods play a central role in the psychological development of the human baby. Studies of infants have identified 10 periods of regression, or a return to a high frequency of mother-infant contact, within the first 20 months of life. These periods of emotional insecurity in the child signal forthcoming periods of developmental advance and the emergence of an array of new skills as a consequence of parent-infant conflict over body contact and the renegotiation of old privileges. Although the basic idea in this book is an old one, the authors believe that regression periods deserve further study and have identified four questions of central importance today: *Can the phenomenon of regression periods as found by Dutch researchers in 1992 be replicated in other countries and cultures? *What environmental conditions have an effect on these regression periods and how? *Are there physical conditions in infants that show a non-linear distribution over age similar to regression periods? *Have brain changes been detected since the review of Fischer & Rose (1994) at other ages than the six reported by them, and, if yes, how do these relate to the ages at which regression periods are found? Forming the core of this book, the replication studies performed in Sweden, Spain, and England provide support that regression periods are a rreliable phenomenon and should be dealt with accordingly whenever developmental processes in infancy are discussed.

Written by a group of developmental scientists, this book debates cognitive achievements in early infancy from a multidisciplinary perspective. The editors combine knowledge from different areas of infant development research to present an integrated view of the cognitive abilities emerging in early infancy. The chapters are arranged in a sequence that best conveys to the reader the line of reasoning that emerged during the development of this book. The book opens with chapters dealing with fundamental and general aspects of cognitive development, sweeps through the specific theme of language acquisition, and closes by returning to general questions concerning different representation modalities.

Written by a group of developmental scientists, this book debates cognitive achievements in early infancy from a multidisciplinary perspective. The editors combine knowledge from different areas of infant development research to present an integrated view of the cognitive abilities emerging in early infancy. The chapters are arranged in a sequence that best conveys to the reader the line of reasoning that emerged during the development of this book. The book opens with chapters dealing with fundamental and general aspects of cognitive development, sweeps through the specific theme of language acquisition, and closes by returning to general questions concerning different representation modalities.

This book summarizes more than four decades of research on imitation in infancy and its relation to early learning and sociocognitive development in typically and atypically developing children. The studies were carried out in a Scandinavian context and thus provide important cultural validation of the central developmental processes. 

The book is divided into three parts:

Imitation from Infancy Through Early Childhood is an essential resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as clinicians and other professionals in developmental psychology, cognitive development, psycholinguistics, child psychiatry, and developmental neuroscience.

Dieses Buch fasst mehr als vier Jahrzehnte Forschung zur Imitation in der Säuglingszeit und deren Zusammenhang mit frühem Lernen und soziokognitiver Entwicklung bei typischen und atypischen Kindern zusammen. Die Studien wurden in einem skandinavischen Kontext durchgeführt und bieten somit eine wichtige kulturelle Validierung der zentralen Entwicklungsprozesse.

Das Buch ist in drei Teile gegliedert:

Dieses Buch ist eine unverzichtbare Ressource für ForscherInnen, ProfessorInnen und DoktorandInnen sowie für KlinikerInnen und andere Fachleute in der Entwicklungspsychologie, kognitiven Entwicklung, Psycholinguistik, Kinderpsychiatrie und Entwicklungsneurowissenschaft.