Preschoolers’ motivation to over-imitate humans and robots
From preschool age, humans tend to imitate causally irrelevant actions—they over-imitate. This study investigated whether children over-imitate even when they know a more efficient task solution and whether they imitate irrelevant actions equally from a human compared to a robot model. Five-to-six-y...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
25 January 2021
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| In: |
Child development
Year: 2021, Volume: 92, Issue: 1, Pages: 222-238 |
| ISSN: | 1467-8624 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/cdev.13403 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13403 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://academic.oup.com/chidev/article/92/1/222/8254794 
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| Author Notes: | Hanna Schleihauf, Stefanie Hoehl, Neli Tsvetkova, Alexander König, Katja Mombaur, Sabina Pauen |
| Summary: | From preschool age, humans tend to imitate causally irrelevant actions—they over-imitate. This study investigated whether children over-imitate even when they know a more efficient task solution and whether they imitate irrelevant actions equally from a human compared to a robot model. Five-to-six-year-olds (N = 107) watched either a robot or human retrieve a reward from a puzzle box. First a model demonstrated an inefficient (Trial 1), then an efficient (Trial 2), then again the inefficient strategy (Trial 3). Subsequent to each demonstration, children copied whichever strategy had been demonstrated regardless of whether the model was a human or a robot. Results indicate that over-imitation can be socially motivated, and that humanoid robots and humans are equally likely to elicit this behavior. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 09.03.2026 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1467-8624 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/cdev.13403 |