Judicious imitation : children differentially imitate deterministically and probabilistically effective actions
Name
230959668-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
2.62 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
7a5394d47f4e44e5521b0568896f4fef
Author(s)
Hooppell, Catherine Amanda Jane
Advisor(s)
Lara Schulz.
Alternative Title
Differential imitation
Date Issued
2007
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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. We show that, even when the frequency of an effect is matched, both preschoolers and toddlers imitate actions more faithfully when modeled actions are deterministically rather than probabilistically effective. A third study suggests that preschoolers' 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.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-46).
Subjects
Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
Persistent DSpace Link
