Contrasting Social and Cognitive Accounts on Overimitation: The Role of Causal Transparency and Prior Experiences

Schleihauf, Hanna; Graetz, Sabine; Pauen, Sabina; Hoehl, Stefanie

doi:10.1111/cdev.12780

Cited by 44 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…We found that such experience significantly influenced high-fidelity imitation of specific novel target acts demonstrated by the adult. These finding are in line with studies of self-experience involving Western children (Williamson et al, 2008;Williamson and Meltzoff, 2011;Wood et al, 2013;Schleihauf et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Results from a series of recent studies have suggested that preschool children's imitation of novel target acts is influenced by the children's own prior self-experience (Williamson et al, 2008;Williamson and Meltzoff, 2011;Wood et al, 2013;Schleihauf et al, 2018; see also Nielsen et al, 2012). For example, in Williamson et al's (2008) study, preschool children were randomly assigned to two prior-experience groups.…”

Section: Prior Self-experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Imitation in Chinese Preschool Children: Influence of Prior Self-Experience and Pedagogical Cues on the Imitation of Novel Acts in a Non-Western Culture

Wang

Meltzoff

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Both prior experience and pedagogical cues modulate Western children's imitation. However, these factors have not been systematically explored together within a single study. This paper explored how these factors individually and together influence imitation using 4-year-old children born and reared in mainland China (N = 210)-a country that contains almost one-fifth of the world's population, and in which childhood imitation is under-studied using experimental methodology. The behavior of children in this culture is of special interest to theory because traditional East Asian culture places high value on conformity and fitting in with the group. Thus, high-fidelity imitation is emphasized in the local culture. This value, practice, or norm may be recognized by children at a young age and influence their imitative performance. In this study, we crossed prior self-experience and pedagogical cues, yielding four demonstration groups in addition to a control group. This design allowed us to investigate the degree to which Chinese preschoolers' imitation was modulated by the two experimental factors. High-fidelity imitation was significantly modulated by prior self-experience but not by pedagogical cues, as measured by the number of novel acts imitated and also the serial order of these acts. This study (i) expands our understanding of factors that modulate imitation of novel behaviors in preschoolers and (ii) contributes to efforts to broaden research beyond Western societies to enrich our theories, particularly regarding social learning and imitation. Imitation is a key mechanism in the acquisition of culturally appropriate behaviors, mannerisms, and norms but who, what, and when children imitate is malleable. This study points to both cross-cultural invariants and variations to provide a fuller picture of the scope and functions of childhood imitation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Prior Self-experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

Imitation in Chinese Preschool Children: Influence of Prior Self-Experience and Pedagogical Cues on the Imitation of Novel Acts in a Non-Western Culture

Wang

Meltzoff

2020

Front. Psychol.

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“…This suggests that, where there is an afforded goal, any action in a modelled sequence can be treated as if it is associated with the goal, regardless of how implausible that might be (see also Schleihauf, Graetz, Pauen, & Hoehl, 2017).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of goal demotion on children's reproduction of ritual behavior

Nielsen

Tomaselli

Kapitány

2018

Evolution and Human Behavior

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Rituals are a ubiquitous feature of human behavior, yet we know little about the cognitive mechanisms that enable children to recognize them and respond accordingly. In this study, 3 to 6 year old children living in Bushman communities in South Africa were shown a sequence of causally irrelevant actions that differed in the extent to which goal demotion was a feature. The children consistently replicated the causally irrelevant actions but when such actions were also fully goal demoted they were reproduced at significantly higher rates. These findings highlight how causal opacity and goal demotion work in tandem to demarcate actions as being ritualistic, and specifically, how goal demotion uniquely influences the reproduction of ritualistic actions.

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“…For example, preschoolers imitate more after watching a live rather than televised demonstration (McGuigan, Whiten, Flynn, & Horner, ; Nielsen, Simcock, & Jenkins, ). They also imitate more when the model is present during their turn (Nielsen & Blank, ), when the model is socially communicative (Hoehl, Zettersten, Schleihauf, Grätz, & Pauen, ; Nielsen, ; Schleihauf, Graetz, Pauen, & Hoehl, ), when the model is an in‐group member (Buttelmann, Zmyj, Daum, & Carpenter, ; Gruber, Deschenaux, Frick, & Clément, ), and when primed with ostracism (Over & Carpenter, ; Watson‐Jones, Legare, Whitehouse, & Clegg, ; Watson‐Jones, Whitehouse, & Legare, ). The affiliative role of imitation is also evident in “synchronic imitation,” in which toddlers copy behavior in concert with their play partner as a way to participate in the interaction (Asendorpf, Warkentin, & Baudonnière, ; Eckerman, Davis, & Didow, ), or as a response toward parental socialization (Forman & Kochanska, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ontogeny of cumulative culture: Individual toddlers vary in faithful imitation and goal emulation

Yu¹,

Kushnir

2019

Developmental Science

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The success of human culture depends on early emerging mechanisms of social learning, which include the ability to acquire opaque cultural knowledge through faithful imitation, as well as the ability to advance culture through flexible discovery of new means to goal attainment. This study explores whether this mixture of faithful imitation and goal emulation is based in part on individual differences which emerge early in ontogeny. Experimental measurements and parental reports were collected for a group of 2‐year‐old children (N = 48, age = 23–32 months) on their imitative behavior as well as other aspects of cognitive and social development. Results revealed individual differences in children's imitative behavior across trials and tasks which were best characterized by a model that included two behavioral routines; one corresponding to faithful imitation, and one to goal emulation. Moreover, individual differences in faithful imitation and goal emulation were correlated with individual differences in theory of mind, prosocial behavior, and temperament. These findings were discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the mechanisms of social learning, ontogeny of cumulative culture, and the benefit of analyzing individual differences for developmental experiments.

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Contrasting Social and Cognitive Accounts on Overimitation: The Role of Causal Transparency and Prior Experiences

Cited by 44 publications

References 39 publications

Imitation in Chinese Preschool Children: Influence of Prior Self-Experience and Pedagogical Cues on the Imitation of Novel Acts in a Non-Western Culture

Imitation in Chinese Preschool Children: Influence of Prior Self-Experience and Pedagogical Cues on the Imitation of Novel Acts in a Non-Western Culture

The influence of goal demotion on children's reproduction of ritual behavior

The ontogeny of cumulative culture: Individual toddlers vary in faithful imitation and goal emulation

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