Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/26572
Appears in Collections:Psychology Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Automatic imitation effects are influenced by experience of synchronous action in children
Author(s): O'Sullivan, Eoin P
Bijvoet-van den Berg, Simone
Caldwell, Christine A
Contact Email: eoin.osullivan@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: automatic imitation
synchrony
associative sequence learning
social learning
sensorimotor experience.
Issue Date: Jul-2018
Date Deposited: 24-Jan-2018
Citation: O'Sullivan EP, Bijvoet-van den Berg S & Caldwell CA (2018) Automatic imitation effects are influenced by experience of synchronous action in children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 171, pp. 113-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.01.013
Abstract: By their fourth year children are expert imitators but it is unclear how this ability develops. One approach suggests that certain types of experience might forge associations between the sensory and motor representations of an action that might facilitate imitation at a later time. Sensorimotor experience of this sort may occur when an infant’s action is imitated by a caregiver or when socially synchronous action occurs. This learning approach therefore predicts that the strength of sensory-motor associations should depend on the frequency and quality of previous experience. Here, we tested this prediction by examining automatic imitation; i.e., the tendency of an action stimulus to facilitate the performance of that action and interfere with the performance of an incompatible action. We required children (aged between 3:8 and 7:11) to respond to actions performed by an experimenter (e.g., two hands clapping), with both compatible actions (i.e., two hands clapping) and incompatible actions (i.e., two hands waving) at different stages in the experimental procedure. As predicted by a learning account, actions thought to be performed in synchrony (i.e., clapping/waving) produced stronger automatic imitation effects when compared to actions where previous sensorimotor experience is likely to be more limited (e.g., pointing/hand closing). Furthermore, these automatic imitation effects were not found to vary with age, as both compatible and incompatible responses quickened with age. These findings suggest a role for sensorimotor experience in the development of imitative ability.
DOI Link: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.01.013
Rights: This item has been embargoed for a period. During the embargo please use the Request a Copy feature at the foot of the Repository record to request a copy directly from the author. You can only request a copy if you wish to use this work for your own research or private study. Accepted refereed manuscript of: O'Sullivan E, Bijvoet-van den Berg S & Caldwell CA (2018) Automatic imitation effects are influenced by experience of synchronous action in children, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 171, pp. 113-130. DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.01.013 © 2018, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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