Cultural transmission of tool use in young children: A diffusion chain study

Flynn, E.; Whiten, A.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00453.x

Cultural transmission of tool use in young children: A diffusion chain study

Flynn, E.; Whiten, A.

Authors

E. Flynn

A. Whiten

Abstract

Developmental and gender effects in the transmission of information about a tool-use task were investigated within a ‘diffusion chain’ design. One hundred and twenty-seven children (65 three-year-olds and 62 five-year-olds) participated. Eighty children took part in diffusion chains in which consecutive children in chains of five witnessed two attempts on a tool-use task by the previous child in the chain. Comparisons were made between two experimental conditions in which alternative techniques were seeded and a third no-model control condition. Children in the diffusion chains conformed to the technique they witnessed, in one experimental condition faithfully transmitting a technique absent in the no-model condition. Five-year-olds displayed more robust transmission than three-year-olds, and boys were both more competent and displayed stronger transmission than girls.

Citation

Flynn, E., & Whiten, A. (2008). Cultural transmission of tool use in young children: A diffusion chain study. Social Development, 17(3), 699-718. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00453.x

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Aug 1, 2008
Deposit Date	Aug 2, 2011
Journal	Social Development
Print ISSN	0961-205X
Electronic ISSN	1467-9507
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	17
Issue	3
Pages	699-718
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00453.x
Keywords	Culture, Observational learning, Tool use, Transmission.