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Origins of social fusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Philippe Rochat*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322. [email protected]://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/rochat/lab/Rochat.html

Abstract

Do instances of extreme self-sacrifice represent a valid paradigm to capture what makes typical individuals fuse with others? Probably not, because they can be viewed as aberrant phenomena. To understand the origins and mechanisms of human social fusion, one should first look at the development of babies and young children. Typical development represents the best alternative to Whitehouse's extreme model of social fusion.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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