Selectivity in social and asocial learning: investigating the prevalence, effect and development of young children's learning preferences.

ABSTRACT: Culture evolution requires both modification and faithful replication of behaviour, thus it is essential to understand how individuals choose between social and asocial learning. In a quasi-experimental design, 3- and 5-year-olds (176), and adults (52) were presented individually with two novel artificial fruits, and told of the apparatus' relative difficulty (easy versus hard). Participants were asked if they wanted to attempt the task themselves or watch an experimenter attempt it first; and then had their preference either met or violated. A significant proportion of children and adults (74%) chose to learn socially. For children, this request was efficient, as observing a demonstration made them significantly quicker at the task than learning asocially. However, for 5-year-olds, childr

SUBMITTER: Flynn E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4780531 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature