Corriveau Kathleen H, DiYanni Cara J, Clegg Jennifer M, Min Grace, Chin Jason, Nasrini Jad
Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, USA.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2017 Sep;161:1-18. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.03.002. Epub 2017 Apr 26.
Across two studies, we explored cultural differences in children's imitation and transmission of inefficient actions. Chinese American and Caucasian American preschoolers (N=115) viewed either one or three models using two inefficient tools to perform two different tasks. In the video, when the model(s) performed the task, only the inefficient tool was available; thus, their choice to use that tool could be considered rational. Next, children were invited to complete the task with either the inefficient tool or an efficient alternative. Whereas the two cultural groups imitated a single model at similar rates, Chinese American children imitated significantly more than Caucasian American children after viewing a consensus. Similar results were found when exploring differences in information transmission. The Chinese American children were significantly more likely than their Caucasian American peers to instruct using an inefficient tool when they had initially viewed a consensus demonstrate it. We discuss these findings with respect to differences in children's use of social versus task-specific cues for learning and teaching.
在两项研究中，我们探究了儿童在低效行为模仿和传播方面的文化差异。华裔美国人和欧裔美国学龄前儿童（N = 115）观看了一个或三个示范者使用两种低效工具执行两项不同任务的视频。在视频中，当示范者执行任务时，只有低效工具可用；因此，他们选择使用该工具可以被认为是合理的。接下来，邀请儿童使用低效工具或高效替代工具完成任务。虽然两个文化群体模仿单个示范者的比例相似，但在观看了一致的示范后，华裔美国儿童的模仿次数显著多于欧裔美国儿童。在探究信息传播差异时也发现了类似的结果。当初始观看一致的示范者使用低效工具进行演示时，华裔美国儿童比欧裔美国同龄人更有可能使用低效工具进行指导。我们从儿童在学习和教学中使用社会线索与特定任务线索的差异方面讨论了这些发现。
