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Squib published In:
Interaction Studies
Vol. 20:2 (2019) ► pp.375–390
Research report

The situational context and the reliability of an adult model influence infants’ imitation

| Uppsala University

Four studies examined 15- to 16-month-olds’ imitation of a model’s novel action with a familiar or an unfamiliar object. The infants observed a reliable or an unreliable model demonstrating a novel action with the object in a solitary observational (Study 1, 44 infants; Study 3, 40 infants) or in an interactive (Study 2, 48 infants; Study 4, 44 infants) context. The model’s reliability was manipulated by having the model acting competently or incompetently with different familiar objects. In two out of four studies infants imitated the model’s behavior when the model had previously shown to be reliable than when the model had been unreliable. The infants’ motivation to imitate was related to whether the reliable model interacted with the infants during object demonstration. More infants imitated the reliable model, who demonstrated the objects while interacting with the infants, than the reliable model who behaved in a disinterested manner during object demonstration.

Keywords: infants, imitation, reliable model, unreliable model, interactive context, solitary observational context
Article outline
  • The current research
  • Study 1: Familiar object – no interaction
    • Method
      • Experimental conditions
        • Demonstration phase
        • Imitation phase
      • Procedure
        • Setting and objects
      • Coding and reliability
      • Manipulation checks
      • Measures of infant variables
        • Demonstration phase
        • Imitation phase
    • Results
    • Discussion
  • Study 2: Familiar object with interaction
    • Method
      • Experimental conditions
      • Procedure
        • Setting and objects
      • Coding and reliability
      • Manipulation checks
      • Measures of infant variables
        • Demonstration phase
        • Imitation phase
    • Results
    • Discussion
  • Study 1 vs. Study 2
  • Study 3: Unfamiliar object – no interaction
    • Method
      • Experimental conditions
      • Procedure
        • Setting and objects
      • Coding and reliability
      • Manipulation checks
      • Measures of infant variables
        • Demonstration phase
        • Imitation phase
    • Results
    • Discussion
  • Study 4: Unfamiliar object with interaction
    • Method
      • Experimental conditions
      • Procedure
        • Setting and objects
      • Coding and reliability
      • Manipulation checks
      • Measures of infant variables
        • Demonstration phase
        • Imitation phase
    • Results
    • Discussion
  • Study 3 vs. Study 4
    • General discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 7 October 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/is.18065.ste
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Cited by 2 other publications

Stenberg, Gunilla
2020. Infant imitation in a third-party context. Interaction Studies. Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems 21:3 ► pp. 387 ff. DOI logo
Stenberg, Gunilla
2023. Infants’ imitative learning from third-party observations. Interaction Studies. Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems 24:3 ► pp. 464 ff. DOI logo

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