Yesterday three scientists at the University of Parma, Italy, received the 2006 Grawemeyer Award for discovering the "mirror neuron" system of brain cells in monkeys. Mirror neurons have been referred to by scientists as one of the most important neuroscientific breakthroughs of recent history.
There is now strong evidence to suggest that humans have the same type of "mirror neurons" found in monkeys. It's what these neurons do that's amazing--they activate in the same way when you're watching someone else do something as they do when you're doing it yourself! This mirroring process/capability is thought to be behind our ability to empathize, but you can imagine the role these neurons have played in keeping us alive as a species. We learn from watching others. We learn from imitating (mirroring) others. The potential problem, though, is that these neurons go happily about their business of imitating others without our conscious intention. Hmmm. Although the neuroscientific findings are new, your parents didn't need to know the cause to recognize the effects:
"Choose your role models carefully."
"You're hanging out with the wrong crowd; they're a bad influence."
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