Papers
5
Total Citations
763
H-Index
5
About
Clare Press is a leading cognitive neuroscientist whose research explores the intersection of social cognition, action observation, and sensorimotor processing. Her key contributions center on automatic imitation—the unconscious tendency to mimic others—and how the brain responds to both human and robotic agents. In her highly cited 2005 paper, “Robotic movement elicits automatic imitation” (245 citations), she demonstrated that even non-biological movements can trigger imitative responses, challenging assumptions about the specificity of the human mirror system. Her 2007 follow-up, “Intact automatic imitation of human and robot actions in autism spectrum disorders” (240 citations), provided groundbreaking evidence that individuals with autism show typical levels of automatic imitation, questioning the existence of a specialized imitation module and reframing debates about social deficits in autism. Press further showed that sensorimotor experience can enhance imitation of robots (135 citations), highlighting the role of learning over innate mechanisms. Her work has profound implications for understanding social reward processing and human-robot interaction, and her studies on autistic traits and mimicry continue to influence fields from developmental psychology to robotics.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Robotic movement elicits automatic imitation245 citations · 2005
- 2
- 3Sensorimotor experience enhances automatic imitation of robotic action135 citations · 2007
- 4Action observation and robotic agents: Learning and anthropomorphism121 citations · 2011
- 5Autistic Traits Modulate Mimicry of Social but not Nonsocial Rewards22 citations · 2013