Eleventh International School on Mind, Brain and Education
2016 September 7–13
Dynamical Coupling:
From Brain-to-Brain to Social Interaction
Directors of the School: Antonio M. Battro and Kurt W. Fischer
Directors of the Course: Uri Hasson and Thalia Wheatley
Indiana University, USA
The dynamic coupling of parents and toddlers: not easy, multiple routes, and important
Humans are social animals. All aspects of human developmental process –including functionalities not usually viewed as social– take place in an environment with invested care-takers. The dynamic coupling of parent and toddler—in turn taking, joint action, shared attention – plays a critical role many early achievements, including word learning, sustained attention, and visual object exploration. But parents and toddlers have very different sensory motor systems with distinct real time dynamics. Coordination is not easily achieved; this may be a relevant source of individual differences in many domains, and if we understand the dynamics a target for intervention for toddlers at risk for less than optimal developmental outcomes.
