Being observed increases overimitation in three diverse cultures.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read More Add to Saved list
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: American Psychological Association Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0260564 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1939-0599 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00121649 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Dev Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Washington DC : American Psychological Association
      Original Publication: Richmond, Va., American Psychological Assn.
    • Subject Terms:
      Child Behavior* ; Imitative Behavior* ; Motivation*; Adult ; Attention ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Germany ; Humans ; Male ; Namibia ; Rural Population ; Urban Population
    • Abstract:
      From a young age, children in Western, industrialized societies overimitate others' actions. However, the underlying motivation and cultural specificity of this behavior have remained unclear. Here, 3- to 8-year-old children (N = 125) from two rural Namibian populations (Hai||om and Ovambo) and one urban German population were tested in two versions of an overimitation paradigm. Across cultures, children selectively imitated more actions when the adult model was present compared to being absent, denoting a social motivation underlying overimitation. At the same time, children's imitation was not linked to their tendency to reengage the adult in a second, independent measure of social motivation. These results suggest that, across diverse cultures, children's imitative behavior is actuated by the attentive state of the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20191011 Date Completed: 20200407 Latest Revision: 20200408
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      10.1037/dev0000832
    • Accession Number:
      31599607