Putting the social into social learning: Explaining both selectivity and fidelity in children's copying behavior.

Abstract

Many previous accounts of imitation have pointed out that children's copying behavior is a means by which to learn from others, while virtually ignoring the social factors which influence imitation. These accounts have thus far been unable to explain flexibility in children's copying behavior (e.g., why children sometimes copy exactly and sometimes copy selectively). We propose that the complexity of children's imitation can only be fully understood by considering the social context in which it is produced. Three critical factors in determining what is copied are children's own (learning and/or social) goals in the situation, children's identification with the model and with the social group in general, and the social pressures which children experience within the imitative situation. The specific combination of these factors which is present during the imitative interaction can lead children to produce a more or less faithful reproduction of the model's act. Beyond explaining flexibility in children's copying behavior, this approach situates the developmental study of imitation within a broader social psychological framework, linking it conceptually with closely related topics such as mimicry, conformity, normativity, and the cultural transmission of group differences.

Preverbal infants expect members of social groups to act alike

“…From a young age, children acquire stereotypes about social groups and are motivated to conform to members of their ingroup and of the majority consensus (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Both of these aspects of social cognition rely on an expectation that social group members act alike.…”

“…Socially motivated imitation or conformity and stereotyping share an early developmental onset (7,8). Many cultural behaviors, including social gestures and language, are acquired in the first few years, suggesting early biases for adopting the typical behaviors of one's own social group.…”

The role of objects and effects in action imitation: Comparing the imitation of object-related actions vs. gestures in 18-month-old infants

“…The function of imitation for the child at the moment of the demonstration is important in determining which aspect of a demonstration the child is likely to copy (Carpenter, 2006;Over & Carpenter, 2012). Although the cognitive function and the social function co-occur, the cognitive function might become more apparent when infants are presented with novel object-related actions.…”

Does Impaired Social Motivation Drive Imitation Deficits in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

“…The term overimitation is used to describe instances in which children imitate actions even when those actions are irrelevant to the task at hand (e.g., Horner and Whiten 2005;Nagell et al 1993;Nielsen 2006). One reason that children are thought to engage in overimitation is out of a desire to connect socially with another person (Carpenter 2006;Nielsen 2006;Nielsen and Carpenter 2008;Over and Carpenter 2012;Tomasello et al 2005). Watson-Jones et al (2014) found that when primed with a video demonstrating ostracism as opposed to affiliation, children engaged in imitative behaviors that adhered more closely to the modeled behavior.…”