Are Children More Likely to Copy Parents at Home or Experimenters in the Lab? Developmental Changes in Overimitation between 4 and 7 Years of Age
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| Title: | Are Children More Likely to Copy Parents at Home or Experimenters in the Lab? Developmental Changes in Overimitation between 4 and 7 Years of Age |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jule Bach (ORCID |
| Source: | Developmental Psychology. 2026 62(5):893-902. |
| 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: | 10 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Young Children, Imitation, Modeling (Psychology), Observational Learning, Child Behavior, Role Models, Familiarity, Interpersonal Relationship, Environmental Influences, Social Influences, Age Differences, Accuracy |
| Geographic Terms: | Germany |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0002007 |
| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| Abstract: | Young children imitate not only actions perceived as causally relevant to achieve a given goal but also nonfunctional ones. This phenomenon is called overimitation (OI). Many previous studies tested children's OI in the lab, with the experimenter serving as model. This raises the important question whether findings obtained this way can be generalized to children's social learning in more natural settings. The present study investigates to what extent familiarity of the model and the environment jointly affect OI in children of different ages. Four-to-7-year-old German children from mixed to high socioeconomic backgrounds were asked to retrieve a cookie from a transparent jar after watching a demonstration by either an unfamiliar experimenter in the lab (N = 80, 40 female) or a primary caregiver at home (N = 80, 40 female). The demonstration included the same functional and nonfunctional actions in both groups. Compared with a baseline condition (no previous demonstration, N = 28), nonfunctional actions were found more often in both experimental groups, with only minor differences between the experimenter/lab and the caregiver/home condition. Interestingly, OI scores remained largely constant in the caregiver/home condition but increased substantially with age in the experimenter/lab condition, suggesting that children become more sensitive to contextual factors with age. These findings are discussed in the light of theories on different motives for showing OI and their implications for future OI research. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/ntrsz/?view_only=43845a796071484c83fb4684c7e1c387 |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1503643 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Young children imitate not only actions perceived as causally relevant to achieve a given goal but also nonfunctional ones. This phenomenon is called overimitation (OI). Many previous studies tested children's OI in the lab, with the experimenter serving as model. This raises the important question whether findings obtained this way can be generalized to children's social learning in more natural settings. The present study investigates to what extent familiarity of the model and the environment jointly affect OI in children of different ages. Four-to-7-year-old German children from mixed to high socioeconomic backgrounds were asked to retrieve a cookie from a transparent jar after watching a demonstration by either an unfamiliar experimenter in the lab (N = 80, 40 female) or a primary caregiver at home (N = 80, 40 female). The demonstration included the same functional and nonfunctional actions in both groups. Compared with a baseline condition (no previous demonstration, N = 28), nonfunctional actions were found more often in both experimental groups, with only minor differences between the experimenter/lab and the caregiver/home condition. Interestingly, OI scores remained largely constant in the caregiver/home condition but increased substantially with age in the experimenter/lab condition, suggesting that children become more sensitive to contextual factors with age. These findings are discussed in the light of theories on different motives for showing OI and their implications for future OI research. |
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| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0002007 |
