Bigger knows better: young children selectively learn rule games from adults rather than from peers.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Preschoolers' selective learning from adult versus peer models was investigated. Extending previous research, children from age 3 were shown to selectively learn simple rule games from adult rather than peer models. Furthermore, this selective learning was not confined to preferentially performing certain acts oneself, but more specifically had a normative dimension to it: children understood the way the adult demonstrated an act not only as the better one, but as the normatively appropriate/correct one. This was indicated in their spontaneous normative interventions (protest, critique, etc.) in response to third party acts deviating from the one demonstrated by the adult model. Various interpretations of these findings are discussed in the broader context of the development of children's social cognition and cultural learning.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Rakoczy, H; Hamann, K; Warneken, F; Tomasello, M

Published Date

  • November 2010

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 28 / Pt 4

Start / End Page

  • 785 - 798

PubMed ID

  • 21121467

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 2044-835X

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0261-510X

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1348/026151009x479178

Language

  • eng