The effect of the model’s presence and of negative evidence on infants’ selective imitation

Abstract

This study demonstrated selective “rational” imitation in infants in two testing conditions: in the presence or absence of the model during the response phase. In the study, 14-month-olds were more likely to imitate a tool-use behavior when a prior failed attempt emphasized the logical reason and relevance of introducing this novel means, making it cognitively transparent for the infants. Infants also learned imitatively from the cognitively opaque (yet socially communicated) modeling situation, but to a lesser degree. Furthermore, the presence of the model as a social partner during testing influenced the performance of infants in that they were more likely to imitate the novel means when the model was present during testing. These results highlight the important interaction of interpretive schemas (e.g., causality, teleological stance) and social communicative cues in action interpretation guiding imitative learning.