Seehagen Sabine, Schneider Silvia, Miebach Kristin, Frigge Katharina, Zmyj Norbert
Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Massenbergstr. 9-13, 44787 Bochum, Germany.
Institute of Psychology, Technical University Dortmund, Emil-Figge-Straße 50, 44227 Dortmund, Germany.
Infant Behav Dev. 2017 Nov;49:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.06.001. Epub 2017 Jun 21.
Imitation is a common way of acquiring novel behaviors in toddlers. However, little is known about toddlers' imitation of undesired actions. Here we investigated 18- and 24-month-olds' (N=110) imitation of undesired and allowed actions from televised peer and adult models. Permissiveness of the demonstrated actions was indicated by the experimenter's response to their execution (angry or neutral). Analyses revealed that toddlers' imitation scores were higher after demonstrations of allowed versus undesired actions, regardless of the age of the model. In agreement with prior research, these results suggest that third-party reactions to a model's actions can be a powerful cue for toddlers to engage in or refrain from imitation. In the context of the present study, third-party reactions were more influential on imitation than the model's age. Considering the relative influence of different social cues for imitation can help to gain a fuller understanding of early observational learning.
模仿是幼儿习得新行为的常见方式。然而，对于幼儿对不良行为的模仿却知之甚少。在此，我们调查了18个月和24个月大的幼儿（N = 110）对电视上同龄人和成人榜样的不良行为及被允许行为的模仿情况。实验者对所展示行为的执行反应（愤怒或中立）表明了这些行为的可接受性。分析显示，无论榜样的年龄如何，在展示被允许的行为与不良行为之后，幼儿的模仿得分在前者之后更高。与先前的研究一致，这些结果表明，第三方对榜样行为的反应可能是幼儿进行模仿或抑制模仿的有力线索。在本研究的背景下，第三方反应对模仿的影响比榜样的年龄更大。考虑不同社会线索对模仿的相对影响有助于更全面地理解早期观察性学习。
