Young children use imitation communicatively.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Social Cognition
• Human Behavior

Background:

• Children imitate for social affiliation, not just learning.
• The communicative intent behind children's imitation is not fully understood.
• It remains unclear if children expend extra effort to ensure imitation is seen.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if preschool-age children modify imitation to ensure the demonstrator sees their actions.
• To determine if children imitate communicatively in specific contexts.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments tested children's imitation with and without a visual barrier.
• Children imitated actions, with one condition requiring extra effort (raising arms) to be seen.
• Communicative behaviors like smiles and gestures were coded in the second experiment.

Main Results:

• Children were more likely to raise their arms when imitation was obscured by a barrier.
• This behavior was consistent across both experiments.
• Communicative behaviors often accompanied imitation, regardless of the condition.

Conclusions:

• Preschool-age children actively use imitation communicatively.
• Children modify their imitation to ensure it is observed by the demonstrator.
• Imitation serves a role in conveying affiliative information and social bonding.