title: Imitation and Innovation: The Dual Engines of Cultural Learning.
abstract: Imitation and innovation work in tandem to support cultural learning in children and facilitate our capacity for cumulative culture. Here we propose an integrated theoretical account of how the unique demands of acquiring instrumental skills and cultural conventions provide insight into when children imitate, when they innovate, and to what degree. For instrumental learning, with an increase in experience, high fidelity imitation decreases and innovation increases. By contrast, for conventional learning, imitative fidelity stays high, regardless of experience, and innovation stays low. We synthesize cutting edge research on the development of imitative flexibility and innovation to provide insight into the social learning mechanisms underpinning the uniquely human mind.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. Electronic address: legare@austin.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Cristine H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Legare
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nielsen
mesh_terms: D003405:Creativity; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D007858:Learning
keywords: cultural learning; cumulative culture; imitation; innovation; overimitation; ritual