TY - JOUR
T1 - Questioning the nature and origins of the “social agent” concept
AU - Tatone, Denis
AU - Pomiechowska, Barbara
PY - 2024/6/27
Y1 - 2024/6/27
N2 - Spelke posits that the concept of “social agent,” who performs object-directed actions to fulfill social goals, is the first noncore concept that infants acquire as they begin to learn their native language. We question this proposal on empirical grounds and theoretical grounds, and propose instead that the representation of object-mediated interactions may be supported by a dedicated prelinguistic mechanism.
AB - Spelke posits that the concept of “social agent,” who performs object-directed actions to fulfill social goals, is the first noncore concept that infants acquire as they begin to learn their native language. We question this proposal on empirical grounds and theoretical grounds, and propose instead that the representation of object-mediated interactions may be supported by a dedicated prelinguistic mechanism.
U2 - 10.1017/s0140525x23003011
DO - 10.1017/s0140525x23003011
M3 - Comment/debate
SN - 0140-525X
VL - 47
JO - Behavioral and Brain Sciences
JF - Behavioral and Brain Sciences
M1 - e142
ER -