Carry-over effects of tool functionality and previous unsuccessfulness increase overimitation in children.

ABSTRACT: Children 'overimitate' causally irrelevant actions in experiments where both irrelevant and relevant actions involve a single common tool. This study design may make it harder for children to recognize the irrelevant actions, as the perceived functionality of the tool during the demonstration of the relevant action may be carried over to the irrelevant action, potentially increasing overimitation. Moreover, little is known how overimitation is affected by the demonstrator's expressed emotions and the child's prior success with the task. Here, 131 nine- to ten-year-old French and German children first engaged in a tool-based task, being successful or unsuccessful, and then watched an adult demonstrating the solution involving one irrelevant and one relevant action before smiling or remainin

SUBMITTER: Frick A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8261220 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature