Children recognise the social value of imitation but do not opt for tools that are 'normative' if they are also dysfunctional. We investigated whether children would replicate a normative method in a tool-learning task if it was instrumentally functional but less efficient than an alternative. Four-to six-year-old children were presented with a sticker-retrieving task and two equally functional tool options that differed in efficiency. The inefficient tool was highlighted as the normative option. Verbal descriptors that established the normative value of the inefficient tool (e.g., 'everybody' uses this) did not motivate children to use it. The majority of children opted for instrumental efficiency over conformity.
Statement of contributionWhat is already known on this subject?Preschoolers display imitative flexibility based on various contextual factors (e.g., verbal cues). They switch between instrumental and conventional stances of social learning. Non-functional approaches are not copied if they come at the expense of goal achievement.What does this study add? Introduced a novel paradigm with simple tool-use tasks and two equally functional methods. Verbally highlighting normative approaches did not motivate children to copy less efficient methods.Time pressure may serve as an instrumental factor that modulates imitation.
We report on a study in which 4-to 6-year-olds were presented with a stickerretrieval task and asked to choose between one of two tools they could use to complete it. One of the tools was efficient but verbally identified to be the one that "nobody" uses; the other option was less efficient, but children were told it was the tool that "everybody" uses. Children learned about the level of efficiency and normative-use of each tool option through one of three presentation mediums: (i) in a face-to-face, live demonstration; (ii) via a demonstration video presented on a laptop; or (iii) via a demonstration video presented onto a small whiteboard from a miniprojector. Intriguingly, children's normative tendency varied depending on the presentation medium. Specifically, children who viewed the demonstration video on a laptop displayed a stronger tendency to employ the inefficient option tool that "everybody" uses, whereas children who were presented the demonstration live or via a demonstration video using a mini-projector were more inclined toward the efficient option that "nobody" uses. We contend that children may now be perceiving digital screens using a social lens, where children's prior experience with screen devices alters the way they interpret and respond to information presented through this medium. This study affords novel insights into how children may treat digital screens as their modern social learning partner, and raises important questions about the credibility and social relevance of digital platforms in the current generation.
Self‐regulation is a widely studied construct, generally assumed to be cognitively supported by executive functions (EFs). There is a lack of clarity and consensus over the roles of specific components of EFs in self‐regulation. The current study examines the relations between performance on (a) a self‐regulation task (Heads, Toes, Knees Shoulders Task) and (b) two EF tasks (Knox Cube and Beads Tasks) that measure different components of updating: working memory and short‐term memory, respectively. We compared 107 8‐ to 13‐year‐old children (64 females) across demographically‐diverse populations in four low and middle‐income countries, including: Tanna, Vanuatu; Keningau, Malaysia; Saltpond, Ghana; and Natal, Brazil. The communities we studied vary in market integration/urbanicity as well as level of access, structure, and quality of schooling. We found that performance on the visuospatial working memory task (Knox Cube) and the visuospatial short‐term memory task (Beads) are each independently associated with performance on the self‐regulation task, even when controlling for schooling and location effects. These effects were robust across demographically‐diverse populations of children in low‐and middle‐income countries. We conclude that this study found evidence supporting visuospatial working memory and visuospatial short‐term memory as distinct cognitive processes which each support the development of self‐regulation.
Our proclivity toward high-fidelity transmission of knowledge is one of the key mechanisms that underpins our success as a species. This study evaluated overimitation within children with hearing impairments (who had either a cochlear implant or a hearing aid) in relation to those with normal hearing. A total of seventy-two 4-year-old children were shown how to operate novel objects using a series of causally irrelevant actions, followed by causally relevant action. We measured the degree to which children reproduced the irrelevant actions as an indicator of imitative fidelity. Children with either hearing impairments or normal hearing replicated the irrelevant actions at rates above the baseline. However, imitative fidelity of the former group was significantly lower. In addition, children with hearing impairments were also less likely to identify and achieve the outcome by performing the relevant act. This study advances our understanding of social learning in children with hearing impairments and proposes potential weakness of social-cognitive skills within this population.
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