On imitation in apes and children

Abstract

We propose a new framework for thinking about social learning which breaks down the mechanisms of social learning into their four constituent elements: actions, results, goals, and reality. We review what is known about the use of each of these four sources of information in children's and chimpanzees' social learning, with special attention to differences among chimpanzees with different rearing histories. We conclude that, by 14 months of age, human children can use each of these sources of information when copying and interpreting others' behavior. Most apes, on the other hand, appear to focus solely on the results of demonstrations, although there is some suggestive evidence that enculturated apes may copy actions more than other apes. We discuss developmental and evolutionary implications of these findings