% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3542343,
title = {{Do children imitate even when it is costly? New insights from a novel task}},
author = {Zhao, Mingxuan and Fong, Frankie T. K. and Whiten, Andrew and Nielsen, Mark},
language = {eng},
issn = {0261-510X; 2044-835X},
doi = {10.1111/bjdp.12463},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-03},
abstract = {{Children have a proclivity to learn through faithful imitation, but the extent to which this applies under significant cost remains unclear. To address this, we investigated whether 4- to 6-year-old children (N {\textequals} 97) would stop imitating to forego a desirable food reward. We presented participants with a task involving arranging marshmallows and craft sticks, with the goal being either to collect marshmallows or build a tower. Children replicated the demonstrated actions with high fidelity regardless of the goal, but retrieved rewards differently. Children either copied the specific actions needed to build a tower, prioritizing tower completion over reward; or adopted a novel convention of stacking materials before collecting marshmallows, and developed their own method to achieve better outcomes. These results suggest children{\textquotesingle}s social learning decisions are flexible and context-dependent, yet that when framed by an ostensive goal, children imitated in adherence to the goal despite incurring significant material costs. {\copyright} 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Developmental Psychology published by John Wiley {\&} Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.}},
journal = {{British Journal of Developmental Psychology}},
volume = {42},
number = {1},
pages = {18--35},
}