Northwestern University Researchers Find That Infants Mimic Unusual Behavior When Accompanied by Language

A new Northwestern University study shows the power of language in infants' ability to understand the intentions of others. As the babies watched intently, an experimenter produced an unusual behavior—she used her forehead to turn on a light. But how did babies interpret this behavior? Did they see it as an intentional act, as something worthy of imitating? Or did they see it as a fluke? To answer this question, the experimenter gave 14-month-old infants an opportunity to play with the light themselves.