The Role of Siblings in the Development of Imitation.

This study examined the development of imitation under naturalistic conditions. Participating were 320 parents, who provided diary records of imitation by their 12-, 15-, and 18-month-old infants over a 7-day period. Approximately half of the infants were first-borns and half had older siblings. The findings indicated that infants of all ages acquired one to two new behaviors per day by imitation. There were age-related changes in the quality rather than the quantity of behaviors acquired through imitation. Older infants imitated more multi-step sequences and substituted more objects during reenactment than did younger infants. There were also sibling-related changes in the quality of behaviors acquired through imitation. Infants with siblings imitated more behaviors spontaneously and their imitation was characterized by a higher level of pretense than infants without siblings. The findings were highly consistent with those obtained under more controlled laboratory conditions. The similarity of the two sets of findings increases the validity of current laboratory research on imitation and indicates that imitation is a powerful mechanism by which infants acquire new behaviors in the course of their everyday lives. (Author/AMC) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) **This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organizaiion originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. '4Zr Points of view or opinions stated in this P., document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. THE ROLE OF SIBLINGS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMITATION Rachel Barr Department of Psychology University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand These data were presented at the Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, New Mexico. This research was supported by a grant from the Foundation of Research, Science, and Technology of New Zealand. The author would like to thank the parents who participated in this study for all their help in data collection. If you have any questions or comments about this research, please address correspondence to Rachel Barr: e-mail, rbarr @ rci .rutgers.edu. _ _ 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY