AUTHOR=Zmyj Norbert , Aschersleben Gisa , Prinz Wolfgang , Daum Moritz TITLE=The Peer Model Advantage in Infants’ Imitation of Familiar Gestures Performed by Differently Aged Models JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology VOLUME=3 YEAR=2012 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00252 DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00252 ISSN=1664-1078 ABSTRACT=

Infants’ imitation of differently aged models has been predominately investigated with object-related actions and so far has lead to mixed evidence. Whereas some studies reported an increased likelihood of imitating peer models in contrast to adult models, other studies reported the opposite pattern of results. In the present study, 14-month-old infants were presented with four familiar gestures (e.g., clapping) that were demonstrated by differently aged televised models (peer, older child, adult). Results revealed that infants were more likely to imitate the peer model than the older child or the adult. This result is discussed with respect to a social function of imitation and the mechanism of imitating familiar behavior.