Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T11:09:55.764Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is there a need to distinguish instrumental copying behavior from traditions?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2022

Thomas R. Zentall Open the ORCID record for Thomas R. Zentall [Opens in a new window]
Thomas R. Zentall*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA zentall@uky.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The authors make a distinction between instrumental copying behavior in which there is a clear reward for the copying behavior and social copying (traditions) in which the rewards for copying are less clear. However, I see no reason to distinguish between the two. We are social animals, for whom copying traditions have important rewards, those of affiliation.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e274
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akins, C. K., & Zentall, T. R. (1996). Imitative learning in male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) involving the two-action method. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 110, 316–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akins, C. K., & Zentall, T. R. (1998). Imitation in Japanese quail: The role of reinforcement of demonstrator responding. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 5, 694–697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alessandri, J., Darcheville, J.-C., & Zentall, T. R. (2008). Cognitive dissonance in children: Justification of effort or contrast? Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15, 673–677.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fefer, S., DeMagistris, J., & Shuttleton, C. (2016). Assessing adolescent praise and reward preferences for academic behavior. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 2(2), 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000072CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, V., & Whiten, A. (2005). Causal knowledge and imitation/emulation switching in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens). Animal Cognition, 8, 164–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lachman, S. J. (1983). A psychophysiological interpretation of voodoo illness and voodoo death. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying, 13, 445–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, M. F. (1985). Kashrut and controversy. Judaism, 34, 334.Google Scholar
Miller, N. E., & Kraeling, D. (1952). Displacement: Greater generalization of approach than avoidance in a generalized approach-avoidance conflict. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 43, 217–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, M., Kapitány, R., & Elkins, R. (2015). The perpetuation of ritualistic actions as revealed by young children's transmission of normative behavior. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36, 191–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Over, H., & Carpenter, M. (2015). Children infer affiliative and status relations from watching others imitate. Developmental Science, 18, 917–925. doi: 10.1111/desc.12275CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, M. C., Alexander, K., & Knapp, L. G. (1990). Motivating children to use safety belts: A program combining rewards and “flash for life.” Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 110–119.3.0.CO;2-2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zentall, T. R., Sutton, J. E., & Sherburne, L. M. (1996). True imitative learning in pigeons. Psychological Science, 7, 343–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar