Parental Models and Overimitation in 5-Year-Old Children
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| Title: | Parental Models and Overimitation in 5-Year-Old Children |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Louise Mackie (ORCID |
| Source: | Developmental Psychology. 2025 61(9):1641-1652. |
| Availability: | American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 12 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Imitation, Young Children, Parents, Familiarity, Stranger Reactions, Efficiency, Foreign Countries, Novelty (Stimulus Dimension), Parent Child Relationship, Child Behavior |
| Geographic Terms: | Austria |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0001798 |
| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| Abstract: | Individuals often copy another's causally irrelevant actions despite their inefficiency toward goals. The present study investigated the influence of model familiarity on this behavior--known as "overimitation"--with a two-phase overimitation task. We tested whether 5-year-old Austrian children (N = 52, 28 males) would overimitate their parents more than a stranger when operating a novel puzzle box. First, an inefficient strategy was demonstrated by a parent (or stranger) before the child's first turn on the box; then, an efficient strategy was demonstrated by a stranger (or parent) before the child's second turn. Results showed that children who first saw their parent's inefficient strategy overimitated it slightly more than those who saw the stranger's. After the efficient demonstration, we observed a reduction in children's overimitation of their parent's (but not the stranger's) inefficient strategy. Comparisons to a no-model (baseline) condition revealed significantly higher overimitation scores for our parent-then-stranger and stranger-then-parent conditions in the first phase, but only for the stranger-then-parent condition in the second phase. We also observed children protesting against their parents' efficient demonstration (in favor of the stranger's inefficient demonstration). These results suggest (a) that overimitation can occur in two ways (supporting a dual-process theory) and (b) that children selectively overimitate depending on model familiarity. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/anbuf |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1502516 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Individuals often copy another's causally irrelevant actions despite their inefficiency toward goals. The present study investigated the influence of model familiarity on this behavior--known as "overimitation"--with a two-phase overimitation task. We tested whether 5-year-old Austrian children (N = 52, 28 males) would overimitate their parents more than a stranger when operating a novel puzzle box. First, an inefficient strategy was demonstrated by a parent (or stranger) before the child's first turn on the box; then, an efficient strategy was demonstrated by a stranger (or parent) before the child's second turn. Results showed that children who first saw their parent's inefficient strategy overimitated it slightly more than those who saw the stranger's. After the efficient demonstration, we observed a reduction in children's overimitation of their parent's (but not the stranger's) inefficient strategy. Comparisons to a no-model (baseline) condition revealed significantly higher overimitation scores for our parent-then-stranger and stranger-then-parent conditions in the first phase, but only for the stranger-then-parent condition in the second phase. We also observed children protesting against their parents' efficient demonstration (in favor of the stranger's inefficient demonstration). These results suggest (a) that overimitation can occur in two ways (supporting a dual-process theory) and (b) that children selectively overimitate depending on model familiarity. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0001798 |
