Theory
Based on his work on imitation, Meltzoff has developed the "like me" hypothesis of infant development. This involves three steps. First, there is an intrinsic, supramodal connection in the infant mind between observed acts and similar executed acts (the correspondence reported in the 1977 and 1983 studies cited above). Secondly, infants experience a regular association between their own acts and their own underlying mental states. This is based on everyday experience. Third, infants project their own internal experiences onto others performing similar acts. As a result, infants begin to acquire an understanding of other minds and their mental states (desires, visual perception and basic emotions, for instance).
This hypothesis suggests that it is imitation that is inborn, and the understanding of other's mental states is a consequence. Other researchers have suggested the opposite, that imitation is a consequence of an understanding of others. But Meltzoff's early imitation studies clearly favor the former possibility.
Read more about this topic: Andrew N. Meltzoff
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