Imitation in children as a function of perceived similarity to a social model and vicarious reinforcement.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of perceived similarity to a social model and the model's response consequences on imitation in children. Preadolescent boys viewed a film in which a male model was portrayed as being either similar or dissimilar to S in terms of background and interests. The model being observed received either reward, punishment, or no consequences for performing a series of instrumental actions. High perceived similarity to the model resulted in greater imitation than low perceived similarity. High perceived similarity to the model appeared to facilitate acquisition of imitative responses as well as performance. The effects of response consequences to the model on imitation were not as widely generalized as the effects of perceived similarity. Previous research has shown that one determinant of matching behavior is the degree to which the subject perceives himself as similar to the model. It has been hypothesized, for example, that the perception of similarities existing between persons leads to perceiving or creating still further similarities. Stotland and his associates have tested this hypothesis using several different procedures. Stotland and Patchen (1961) found that perceived similarity to a model in background and personal characteristics produced a shift in attitudes of prejudice and authoritarianism toward those of the model. In a similar study (Burnstein, Stotland, & Zander, 1961), it was found that sixth-, seventh-, and eighthgrade boys adopted more of the sea-diving preferences of a deep-sea diver portrayed as being similar to them in background and other characteristics than of a deep-sea diver described as dissimilar. Also, Stotland, Zander, and Natsoulas (1962) found that subjects who believed themselves to be similar to a confederate on preferences for musical compositions matched the confederate's 1 This study was part of a doctoral dissertation submitted to the graduate school of the University of Minnesota. The author wishes to express her gratitude to Willard W. Hartup for his generous advice and assistance. The research was supported, in part, by the John E. Anderson Research Fund and completed with the aid of the facilities of the Numerical Analysis Center at the University of

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