Learning Novel Skills From Iconic Gestures: A Developmental and Evolutionary Perspective
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In: Psychological Science, Vol. 31, No. 7, 01.07.2020, p. 873-880.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Learning Novel Skills From Iconic Gestures
T2 - A Developmental and Evolutionary Perspective
AU - Bohn, Manuel
AU - Kordt, Clara
AU - Braun, Maren
AU - Call, Josep
AU - Tomasello, Michael
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2020.
PY - 2020/7/1
Y1 - 2020/7/1
N2 - Cumulative cultural learning has been argued to rely on high-fidelity copying of other individuals’ actions. Iconic gestures of actions have no physical effect on objects in the world but merely represent actions that would have an effect. Learning from iconic gestures thus requires paying close attention to the teacher’s precise bodily movements—a prerequisite for high-fidelity copying. In three studies, we investigated whether 2- and 3-year-old children (N = 122) and great apes (N = 36) learn novel skills from iconic gestures. When faced with a novel apparatus, participants watched an experimenter perform either an iconic gesture depicting the action necessary to open the apparatus or a gesture depicting a different action. Children, but not great apes, profited from iconic gestures, with older children doing so to a larger extent. These results suggest that high-fidelity copying abilities are firmly in place in humans by at least 3 years of age.
AB - Cumulative cultural learning has been argued to rely on high-fidelity copying of other individuals’ actions. Iconic gestures of actions have no physical effect on objects in the world but merely represent actions that would have an effect. Learning from iconic gestures thus requires paying close attention to the teacher’s precise bodily movements—a prerequisite for high-fidelity copying. In three studies, we investigated whether 2- and 3-year-old children (N = 122) and great apes (N = 36) learn novel skills from iconic gestures. When faced with a novel apparatus, participants watched an experimenter perform either an iconic gesture depicting the action necessary to open the apparatus or a gesture depicting a different action. Children, but not great apes, profited from iconic gestures, with older children doing so to a larger extent. These results suggest that high-fidelity copying abilities are firmly in place in humans by at least 3 years of age.
KW - cultural learning
KW - evolution
KW - gesture
KW - iconicity
KW - imitation
KW - open data
KW - open materials
KW - preregistered
KW - Psychology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85085385852&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0956797620921519
DO - 10.1177/0956797620921519
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 32453622
AN - SCOPUS:85085385852
VL - 31
SP - 873
EP - 880
JO - Psychological Science
JF - Psychological Science
SN - 0956-7976
IS - 7
ER -