Rational imitation of goal-directed actions in 14-month-olds
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چکیده
The study sheds new light on the nature of imitative learning in 14-month-olds. It is demonstrated that while infants of this age can indeed imitate a novel means modelled to them, they do so only if the action is seen by them as the most rational alternative to the goal available within the constraints of the situation. The findings support the ‘rational imitation’ account over current ‘imitative learning’ or ‘emulative learning’ accounts in explaining re-enactment of goal-directed action in 14month-olds.
منابع مشابه
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The principle of rationality has been invoked to explain that infants expect agents to perform the most efficient means action to attain a goal. It has also been demonstrated that infants take into account the efficiency of observed actions to achieve a goal outcome when deciding whether to reenact a specific behavior or not. It is puzzling, however, that they also tend to imitate an apparently...
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تاریخ انتشار 2001