Imitation, tutoring and tool use in human infancy

In a series of three studies the relationship between imitative learning emulation learning and tool use was explored through the replication and extension of an apparatus and an experimental paradigm developed by Nagell Olguin & Tomasello (1993). In addition to examining whether young children were capable of imitative learning studies one, two, and three explored the presence of affordance learning through the more sensitive measure of learning about relative efficiency. Study one found evidence of imitative learning but no evidence of affordance learning in children of 18- to 48-months of age. It was hypothosised that a number of procedural effects may have been inhibiting affordance learning" one of which was explored by using a second, novel problem-solving task in study two with no evidence of affordance learning emerging. Study three explored another procedural effect and found tentative evidence of affordance learning in 3-year-old children. Although the findings of studies one, two and three provided broad support for the position that children tend to use imitation over emulation they suggest that different learning mechanisms may be intertwined.