THE SOCIAL CONTROL OF GENERALIZED IMITATION<sup>1</sup>
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TL;DR
Instructions, discrimination procedures, and sources of reinforcement were manipulated in order to determine the bases for the maintained "non-reinforced" imitations observed in generalized imitation research.
Abstract
Instructions, discrimination procedures, and sources of reinforcement were manipulated in order to determine the bases for the maintained "non-reinforced" imitations observed in generalized imitation research. Six girls received imitation training from two experimenters. One experimenter modelled only reinforced responses; the other modelled only non-reinforced responses. The children imitated all responses when no reinforced alternative was available, even though results of choice procedures and special instructions clearly demonstrated that they discriminated reinforced from non-reinforced responses. Instructions not to perform non-reinforced imitations immediately eliminated these behaviors. It is suggested that social setting events may be largely responsible for generalized imitation.