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How does the reliability of a model affect children's choice to learn socially or individually?

Turner, C.; Giraldeau, L.-A.; Flynn, E.

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Authors

C. Turner

L.-A. Giraldeau

E. Flynn



Abstract

The effect of model reliability on children’s choices to learn socially versus individually is pertinent to theories addressing cultural evolution and theories of selective trust. Here the effect of a reliable versus unreliable model on children’s preferences to learn socially or individually was examined, as well as their subsequent imitation on a puzzle box task. Experiment One (N = 156) found children were more likely to ask to learn socially when presented with a novel task, after witnessing an unreliable rather than a reliable model. Experiment Two (N = 40) found children select a new unknown model, over the previously unreliable model, suggesting a preference to learn socially was created, although not specifically from the unreliable model. Experiment Three (N = 48) replicated children’s learning preference in Experiment One with a new task, and showed children’s attention is drawn towards other sources of social information (another adult model) when viewing an unreliable model, and also found a reliable model caused more fidelity of imitation. Together these results suggest that model unreliability causes greater social learning requests and attention to other, even novel, models when they are available. These findings evidence human children’s strong propensity to learn socially compared with non-human animals; and suggest there is a more complicated relationship between learning preference, model reliability and selective trust than has been captured in previous research.

Citation

Turner, C., Giraldeau, L., & Flynn, E. (2017). How does the reliability of a model affect children's choice to learn socially or individually?. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38(3), 341-349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.11.005

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 30, 2016
Online Publication Date Dec 8, 2016
Publication Date May 1, 2017
Deposit Date Jan 9, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Evolution and Human Behavior
Print ISSN 1090-5138
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 38
Issue 3
Pages 341-349
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.11.005

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