ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

Advances in Psychological Science ›› 2013, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (4): 671-678.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2013.00671

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Infant’s Understanding of Actions: Retrospect and Prospect

CHEN Yaping;LI Xiaodong   

  1. (Normal College, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China)
  • Received:2012-07-23 Online:2013-04-15 Published:2013-04-15
  • Contact: LI Xiaodong

Abstract: Understanding the intention of actions of others is very important for an infant. Infants can adjust their behavior for a better social interaction based on the intention of action. Infant’s inference of the action is critical for they react appropriately in a social context, and it can also predict the theory of mind and language understanding when they get older. But how infant get this ability? Empiricism believed that infant learned it from their own experience, while Teleology proposed that it was an innate ability. Both theories got some evidence and no consistent conclusions yet. This kind of research does inspire embodied cognition and the Mind-Body relationship.

Key words: infants, intention of action, embodied cognition