Preschoolers’ Motivation to Over‐Imitate Humans and Robots

Hanna Schleihauf (Korresp. Autor*in), Stefanie Hoehl, Neli Tsvetkova, Alexander König, Katja Mombaur, Sabina Pauen

Veröffentlichungen: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelPeer Reviewed

Abstract

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.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)222-238
Seitenumfang17
FachzeitschriftChild Development
Jahrgang92
Ausgabenummer1
DOIs
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - Jan. 2021

ÖFOS 2012

  • 501005 Entwicklungspsychologie

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