Imitation of a Peer as a Function of Reinforcement From the Peer Group and Rewardingness of the Model

This study is based on the hypothesis that the effect of exposure to rewarding peer models, as compared to nonrewarding models, depends on the subject's general history of reinforcement from the peer group. 56 nursery school children were selected as Ss, and the behavior modeled consisted of a series of altruistic and incidental responses. It was found that Ss exposed to an altruistic peer model displayed significantly more altruism than Ss not exposed to a model. It was also discovered that Ss who had a history of frequent reinforcement from their peers imitated a rewarding model significantly more than a nonrewarding model; on the other hand, children who received infrequent reinforcement from peers imitated nonrewarding peers significantly more than rewarding peers. The results are discussed in relation to Mowrer's secondary reinforcement theory of imitative behavior.