Model expertise does not influence automatic imitation

Abstract

Social learning theories state that new skills can be learned by observing others. Automatic imitation is thought to play an important role in this process. However, whether imitation is beneficial to learning critically depends on the expertise of the imitated person. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of model expertise on automatic imitation, by comparing automatic imitation of an expert and non-expert model in two within-subject experiments. In a first experiment (N = 61), we manipulated the perception of expertise in one task and tested how this influenced automatic imitation in a separate task. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, and in spite of a successful manipulation check, we did not find evidence for an effect of model expertise on imitative behavior. To exclude the alternative explanation that this was due to a lack of transfer of expertise attribution, we then conducted a second, preregistered experiment (N = 125), in which we manipulated model expertise using the same task also used to measure automatic imitation. However, in line with the results of Experiment 1, we found no evidence for an effect of model expertise on imitative behavior. These results put important constraints on the role of automatic imitation in motor learning.

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“…In broad terms, a robot is seen as a physical machine capable of awareness, decision-making, and may also possess autonomy and learning, communication and interaction skills. This definition refers mostly to autonomous robots, which are characterised by their ability to acquire autonomy through sensors or data exchange with their environment, optional self-learning capability, a physical form, and adaptability to their surroundings (Nevejans, 2016).…”

“…The document "European civil law rules in robotics" (Nevejans, 2016) discusses the notion of granting legal personality to autonomous robots. On the one hand, it questions the idea of assigning legal personality to machines, as they are essentially sophisticated mechanisms and do not guarantee such a status.…”