Part V - Synchrony and turn-taking as communicative mechanisms

Summary

The following three chapters highlight the important role of synchrony and turn-taking in imitative interactions. Two particular aspects are emphasized in this section: firstly, the communicative role and function of imitation which, in particular in research involving robots or other artifacts, has often been neglected in favour of the skill acquisition aspect of imitation, and secondly, the dynamical nature of imitative interactions where synchrony and turn-taking facilitate inter-subjectivity, sharing of experience, communication and empathy.

The first two chapters in this section provide excellent examples of Braitenberg's synthetic psychology approach (Braitenberg, 1984) where the synthesis and study of artifacts (simulated agents or robots) can shed light on psychological phenomena that have been observed in humans and other animals. In experiments with artifacts the systems' design parameters as well as input/output characteristics can be accessed directly, which can give rise to studies and types of analysis otherwise impossible with biological systems. Both chapters demonstrate how psychological experiments have led to robotic experiments and computer simulations, whose results in turn can be compared to work in psychology and inform further studies and the development of theoretical frameworks that apply across biological and artificial systems.

Arnaud Revel and Jacqueline Nadel present inter-disciplinary work that compares imitation in human infants and autonomous robots, providing concrete examples from both research areas that are underpinning their framework. The chapter highlights the communicative function of synchronization and turn-taking.