Judicious Imitation: Children Differentially Imitate Deterministically and Probabilistically Effective Actions

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Abstract
Three studies look at whether the assumption of causal determinism (the assumption that all else being equal, causes generate effects deterministically) affects children’s imitation of modeled actions. These studies show even when the frequency of an effect is matched, both preschoolers (N = 60; M = 56 months) and toddlers (N = 48; M = 18 months) imitate actions more faithfully when modeled actions are deterministically rather than probabilistically effective. A third study suggests that preschoolers’ (N = 32; M = 58 months) imitation is affected not just by whether the agent’s goal is satisfied but also by whether the action is a reliable means to the goal. Children’s tendency to generate variable responses to probabilistically effective modeled actions could support causal learning.