How Rational is Rational Imitation? Investigating Cognitive Processes Underlying Rational Imitation in Preverbal Infants

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Sabina Pauen, since 10/2016
• Subject Area: Developmental and Educational Psychology
• Term: from 2015 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 268249246

In search of the uniquely human, researchers often alight on the ability to learn from others via imitation (Tomasello, 1999). Infants already seem to be able to imitate others, and they use this learning mechanism quite selectively (Gergely, Bekkering & Kiraly, 2002). Different researchers have proposed different explanations for infants selectivity in imitation. Some accounts explain results on a low cognitive level (e.g., Beisert et al., 2012; Paulus et al., 2011), others on a cognitively demanding level by suggesting that selective imitation is based on infants rational evaluation of the observed demonstration (e.g., Buttelmann et al., 2008; Gergely & Csibra, 2003). The latter approaches have in common that this rational evaluation is supposed to be driven by a violation of infants expectation about how actions should be performed by a model. This project focuses on this aspect by investigating whether infants selective imitation is indeed based on a violation of their expectation. Three different methods will be used to investigate this hypothesis, using, whenever possible, the exact same stimuli. Methods included are EEG for measuring electrical activity in the brain (Study 1), eye-tracking for measuring infants looking behavior (looking time, gaze shifts, and pupil dilation, Study 2) and imitation as a behavioral measure (Study 3). This multi-method approach will provide us with new information about infants expectations in rational imitation studies. Our results will shed more light on the cognitive foundations of infants social learning and will help to develop more detailed theories on infants imitation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemalige Antragstellerinnen / Ehemalige Antragsteller: Privatdozent Dr. David Buttelmann, until 7/2016; Professorin Stefanie Höhl, Ph.D., until 9/2016