Overimitation in Kalahari Bushman Children and the Origins of Human Cultural Cognition

TLDR

Children learn to use objects by imitation, and from 18 months they routinely copy even arbitrary actions—a behavior called overimitation that differs from nonhuman primates. The study documents similarities in overimitation between children from an industrialized city and remote Bushman communities to suggest it may be a universal human trait. The authors compare overimitation behaviors across these populations. Overimitation is unaffected by age, environment, or familiarity, and appears to be an evolutionary adaptation fundamental to cultural development and transmission.

Abstract

Children are surrounded by objects that they must learn to use. One of the most efficient ways children do this is by imitation. Recent work has shown that, in contrast to nonhuman primates, human children focus more on reproducing the specific actions used than on achieving actual outcomes when learning by imitating. From 18 months of age, children will routinely copy even arbitrary and unnecessary actions. This puzzling behavior is called overimitation. By documenting similarities exhibited by children from a large, industrialized city and children from remote Bushman communities in southern Africa, we provide here the first indication that overimitation may be a universal human trait. We also show that overimitation is unaffected by the age of the child, differences in the testing environment, or familiarity with the demonstrating adult. Furthermore, we argue that, although seemingly maladaptive, overimitation reflects an evolutionary adaptation that is fundamental to the development and transmission of human culture.