St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The interaction of social and perceivable causal factors in shaping ‘over-imitation’

Thumbnail
View/Open
Burdett_et_al_CogDev_2018.pdf (821.1Kb)
Date
07/2018
Author
Burdett, Emily R. R.
McGuigan, Nicola
Harrison, Rachel
Whiten, Andrew
Funder
John Templeton Foundation
John Templeton Foundation
Grant ID
40128
40128
Keywords
Over-imitation
Selective learning
Cultural learning
Social learning
BF Psychology
NDAS
Metadata
Show full item record
Altmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
Over-imitation has become a well-documented phenomenon. However there is evidence that both social and visible, physically causal factors can influence the occurrence of over-imitation in children. Here we explore the interplay between these two factors, manipulating both task opacity and social information. Four- to 7-year-old children were given either a causally opaque or transparent box, before which they experienced either (1) a condition where they witnessed a taught, knowledgeable person demonstrate an inefficient method and an untaught model demonstrate a more efficient method; or (2) a baseline condition where they witnessed efficient and inefficient methods performed by two untaught models. Results showed that the level of imitation increased with greater task opacity and when children received social information about knowledgeability consequent on teaching, but only for 6- to 7-year-olds. The findings show that children are selectively attuned to both causal and social factors when learning new cultural knowledge.
Citation
Burdett , E R R , McGuigan , N , Harrison , R & Whiten , A 2018 , ' The interaction of social and perceivable causal factors in shaping ‘over-imitation’ ' , Cognitive Development , vol. 47 , pp. 8-18 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.02.001
Publication
Cognitive Development
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.02.001
ISSN
0885-2014
Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created accepted version manuscript following peer review and as such may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.02.001
Description
This work was supported by a John Templeton Foundation grant ID 40128 to AW and K Laland.
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/19519

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter