Spreading the game: An experimental study on the link between children's overimitation and their adoption, transmission, and modification of conventional information

Overimitation is hypothesized to foster the spread of conventional information within populations. The current study tested this claim by assigning 5-year-old children (N = 64) to one of two study populations based on their overimitation (overimitators [OIs] vs. non-overimitators [non-OIs]). Children were presented with con-ventional information in the form of novel games lacking instru-mental outcomes, and we observed children's adoption, transmission, and modification of this information across two study phases. Results reveal little variation across study popula-tions in the number of game elements that were adopted and transmitted. However, OIs were more likely to use normative lan-guage than non-OIs when transmitting game information to their peers. Furthermore, non-OIs modified the games more frequently in the initial study phase, suggesting an inverse relationship between children's overimitation and their tendency to modify conventional information. These findings indicate subtle yet coher-ent links between children's overimitation and their tendency to transmit and modify conventional information. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecom-mons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

The study found subtle yet consistent links between children's overimitation behavior and their tendency to transmit and modify conventional information. Overimitators were more likely to use normative language when transmitting game information, while non-overimitators modified games more frequently in the initial phase.