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An Examination of the Influence of Mimicry on the Pro-Social Sharing of Preschoolers

The effects of mimicry on pro-social sharing were investigated among 4-year-olds.
During the priming phase, the experimenter either copied the actions of the children
directly or responded contingently to their actions. The effect of mimicry on sharing
behavior was assessed by the children’s performance on the resource allocation task.
Results indicated that mimicry did not influence sharing above and beyond a positive
interaction, with low levels of sharing found in both conditions. Experiment 2 was
designed to determine whether the lack of communication during the priming phase of
Experiment 1 was responsible for the levels of sharing found. During the priming phase,
the experimenter either spoke to the children while they played, or did not. Results
indicated that communication did not influence pro-social sharing, as the levels of
sharing were no higher than those found in Experiment 1. Other influencing factors such
as the nature of mimicry are discussed.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:NSHD.ca#10222/31134
Date17 June 2013
CreatorsParker, Charlene
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish

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