ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the use of imitation as a method in therapy of phobias. It focuses on imitation related to the tragic social problem of suicide among adolescent and adults, citing statistical and clinical data. The book presents the data obtained mostly in studies on feeding in animals. It discusses the results of observations on the influence of a companion on development of independent feeding in birds and mammals and proposes the facilitatory role of the presence of the mother in initiation of eating new food by young kittens. The book demonstrates the imitation of the mother’s improper food selection by weanling kittens and also describes the cases of inhibition of imitation in both humans and animals. It also presents a clinical case of disinhibition of imitative behavior after ablations of prefrontal lobes of the brain.
