Peer Imitation in a Natural Setting

ABRAMOVITCH, RONA, and GRUSEC, JOAN E. Peer Imitation in a Natural Setting. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 60-65. 5 groups of children, ranging from 4 to 11 years of age, were observed for instances of immediate imitation of peers in a free-play setting. Imitation decreased with age, from an average of 14.82 to an average of 1.80 imitative acts per child per hour, with more verbal than motor acts being imitated for all age groups. Judges were not able to discriminate between those acts imitated by the younger and those imitated by the older children. Dominant children (assessed by the amount of time a child was looked at and by teachers' ratings) were imitated more; in 4 of the 5 groups dominant children imitated more than nondominant ones. Among preschoolers boys imitated more and were imitated more than girls.