Object use is a ubiquitous characteristic of the human species, and learning how objects function is a fundamental part of development. In this article the authors examine the role that intentionality plays in children's understanding of causal relationships during observational learning of object use. Children observed demonstrations in which…

Results suggest that the age composition of peer groups influences the performance of peer-modeled information, thus providing an indication that imitation of peers is a selective process influenced by the relative age of the model to the observer. Data also suggest that observational learning is a complex process involving considerable…

Twenty-four 14- and 30-month-old children observed a model use 20 new words as labels for objects of varied semantic associations. Age was highly and positively correlated with elicited and spontaneous imitation and scores for recognition of the objects associated with the words. (Author/SB)

Deferred imitation of object-related actions was studied at two ages, 12 and 18 months, to examine development of competence in observational learning. Three task categories were investigated: simple/single reiterative, and sequentially coordinated actions. Examination of partial successes at both ages was useful for suggesting phases in…

Examined the development of the ability of 5-, 9-, and 13-year-old children to produce elemental and complex facial movements intentionally. (Author/DB)

Three experiments were conducted with elementary school students which investigated whether modelling of unreinforced behavior influenced children to perform that behavior. Results indicated that the unreinforced behavior of the model serves both as a source of information and as a cue for unreinforced imitation. (DP)

Tests the hypothesis that there is a relationship between children's comprehension of a syntactic form and the effectiveness of modeling in promoting imitation of that form. Subjects were 71 four- and five-year-old children. (Author/MP)

Forty-eight white elementary school students, ages 6 to 10, received experimental treatments consisting of modeling and social reinforcement contingencies designed to influence their racial preferences. Social reinforcement significantly increased the modification of racial preferences during the treatments; modeling had a sustaining influence on…

Four-and seven-year-old children observed an adult, filmed model perform novel behaviors following social interaction with that adult. Other children viewed the film without social interaction. Children were then asked to demonstrate behavior. Seven-year-olds did better than four-year-olds, and a positive social interaction facilitated modeling.…

Selected vocal and gestural imitation items were presented to twenty-four 8-, 14- and 20-month-old boys and girls in an elicited task situation. Both vocal and gestural imitation increased with age, although for each age group there was significantly more gestural than vocal imitation. (BD)

This study examined the development of imitation under naturalistic conditions. Participating were 320 parents, who provided diary records of imitation by their 12-, 15-, and 18-month-old infants over a 7-day period. Approximately half of the infants were first-borns and half had older siblings. The findings indicated that infants of all ages…

Examines the nature of the cognitive coding processes operating both during and following exposure to modeled behavior and the contributions of these processes to recall of the behavior in four- and seven-year-old children. (Author/MP)

Results lend support to the notion that children at different ages are differentially responsive to various conceptual-strategy models. (Author)

Investigating the effect of age and temporal placement of a modelled skill on performance of a balance task of 60 boys (seven and nine years old) indicated significant effects of age, temporal appearance of the model, and an interaction of model by age for time on-balance. (Author/PN)