Imitation and performance in confrontations between competent peers: The role of the representation of the task

Abstract

This study (N=75) examined the influence dynamics that take place between two competent individuals presenting divergent solutions for a cognitive task. The hypothesis was that such settings (i.e., conflict of competencies) are unlikely to have a positive effect on intellectual performance because of the representation of the task, and that an increase in performance may be found if such a representation is modified. Three conditions were examined: a control condition in which participants completed the task by themselves, a conflict of competencies condition in which participants declared to be highly competent where confronted with a equally highly competent (bogus) partner who offered diverging solutions (standard conflict of competencies condition), and a conflict of competencies condition in which a decentring procedure was induced to modify the representation of the task. The results showed that participants in the decentring condition solved the task better compared to the standard conflict of competencies condition and the control condition. However, the results unexpectedly revealed imitation in the two conflict of competencies conditions compared to the control condition. Complementary analyses suggest that in the standard conflict of competencies condition imitation corresponds to a defensive motivation.