Children’s synchrony and rhythmicity in imitation of peers: Toward a developmental model of empathy Jean Xavier a,⇑ , Elodie Tilmont a , Olivier Bonnot b a Service de Psychiatrie de l’Enfant et de l’Adolescent, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP–HP, Paris, France b Unité Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l’Enfant et de l’Adolescent, Hôpital Mère–Enfant, CHU de Nantes, Nantes, France article info Article history: Available online xxxx Keywords: Empathy Intersubjective experience Imitation Rythmicity Synchrony Visuo-spatial abilities abstract The main mechanisms of children’s imitative exchanges with peers are highlighted here through a devel- opmental approach taking into account the importance of rhythmicity and synchrony. We focused on spontaneous motor imitation to describe a playful dynamic that is paradoxical: in the experience of play in which roles are not clearly distributed, mutual discovery of the self and others gradually arises. From an integrative perspective, this form of interaction, produced by positional reversal and turn taking, is apprehended through two axis. On the temporal plan, it can be considered as a rhythmic pattern with repetition and synchrony. Moreover, these mutual exchanges between the self and others challenge visuo-spatial abilities in children who must be able to change their reference point through an operation of mental rotation. Based on this description of the intersubjective experience produced through a suc- cession of spatial and symbolic viewpoint changes, a developmental model of empathy is offered and dis- cussed. According to this model, the capacity of empathy has two dimensions, emotional and cognitive, and is understood as a process involved in child development. In this article, we propose that empathy is more than the ‘‘mere’’ capacity of decentration corresponding to the acquisition of a theory of mind. It involves an individual in relationship with others and who has the ability to integrate perspectives. Ó 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction Empathy consists of emotional sharing and presupposes the cognitive ability to recognize others as intentional beings and, as a corollary, the ability to differentiate one’s own experience from that of others. This description suggests two dimensions, emo- tional and cognitive, and their articulation is difficult to conceive. We propose to address this issue by considering empathy as a pro- cess and its development as the result of an intersubjective imita- tive dynamic. The concept of empathy will be initially described in relation to its plurality of definitions and in an attempt to distin- guish it from the theory of mind. Then, the child’s imitative ex- changes with peers will be analyzed through a developmental approach, focusing on spontaneous motor imitation, to better ascertain the main mechanisms. Thus, it will be pointed that the experience of play in which roles are not clearly distributed, can gradually produce mutual discovery of the self and others. From an integrative perspective, this form of interaction, produced by positional reversals and turn taking, can be understood through two axis. On the temporal plan, it can be considered as a rhythmic pattern with repetition and synchrony. Moreover, these mutual ex- changes between the self and others challenge visuo-spatial abili- ties in children who must be able to change their reference point through an operation of mental rotation. Based on this description of intersubjective experience produced through a succession of spatial and symbolic viewpoint changes, a developmental model of empathy will be proposed. In this model, more than the capacity of decentration corresponding to the acquisition of a theory of mind, empathy involves an individual in relationship with others and who has the ability to integrate perspectives. 2. The concept of empathy and its relationship to the theory of mind (TOM) The term empathy corresponds to a plurality of definitions and must be distinguished from the concept of theory of mind (TOM). The latter, which belongs to cognitive sciences and is part of the wider field of social cognition, designates the cognitive processes that allow the representation and understanding of one’s own states of mind (faiths, desires, intentions) and those of others as well as the ability to predict one’s actions. Two theories have at- tempted to answer the question of how this cognitive ability, which is acquired by age 4, develops: (1) the theory of the theory and (2) the theory of simulation. Each of these theories is 0928-4257/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jphysparis.2013.03.012 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Service de Psychiatrie de l’Enfant et de l’Adolescent, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP–HP, 47-83 boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France. Tel.: +33 1 42 16 23 40. E-mail address: jean.xavier@psl.aphp.fr (J. Xavier). Journal of Physiology - Paris xxx (2013) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Physiology - Paris journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jphysparis Please cite this article in press as: Xavier, J., et al. Children’s synchrony and rhythmicity in imitation of peers: Toward a developmental model of empathy. J. Physiol. (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jphysparis.2013.03.012