"Don't try this at home": toddlers' imitation of new skills from people on video.
Imitation of people on educational television is a potential way for very young children to learn new skills. Although toddlers in previous studies exhibited a "video deficit" in learning, 24-month-olds in Study 1 successfully reproduced behaviors modeled by a person who was on video as well as they did those modeled by a person who was present in the room (even after a 24-h delay). Neither displaced filming context nor cuts between actions affected toddlers' imitation from video. Shortening the demonstration in Study 2 affected imitation in the video condition but not in the live condition. In Study 3, 24-month-olds who viewed the original longer videos on their family TV screens (with which they had a viewing history) imitated significantly less than those who viewed the videos on the laboratory monitor. Imitation of a live modeler was the same across settings (home or lab). Implications for toddlers' judgments of reliable information sources and for the design of educational television programs are discussed.
Strouse
Gabrielle A
GA
Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Nashville, TN 37203-5721, USA.
Troseth
Georgene L
GL
D001288:Attention; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012931:Social Environment; D013690:Television; D014741:Video Recording