Premium
When efficiency attenuates imitation in preschool children
Author(s) -
Fong Frankie T. K.,
Imuta Kana,
Redshaw Jonathan,
Nielsen Mark
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/bjdp.12366
Subject(s) - normative , imitation , psychology , conformity , task (project management) , dysfunctional family , value (mathematics) , developmental psychology , normative social influence , cognitive psychology , social psychology , computer science , clinical psychology , philosophy , management , epistemology , machine learning , economics
Children recognise the social value of imitation but do not opt for tools that are ‘normative’ if they are also dysfunctional. We investigated whether children would replicate a normative method in a tool‐learning task if it was instrumentally functional but less efficient than an alternative. Four‐ to six‐year‐old children were presented with a sticker‐retrieving task and two equally functional tool options that differed in efficiency. The inefficient tool was highlighted as the normative option. Verbal descriptors that established the normative value of the inefficient tool (e.g., ‘everybody’ uses this) did not motivate children to use it. The majority of children opted for instrumental efficiency over conformity.