We learn about the world through the knowledge accumulated (积累) over thousands of years. Standing on the shoulders of great men, we don't have to experience endless trial and error, just as the wheels do not have to be reinvented each time to run a car. But where does our ability to learn from others come from?
A study led by Markus Paulus, professor at Loyola Marymount University, shows that the ability has its roots in earliest childhood. "I's generally assumed that children's ability to imitate (模仿) is in born, but according to our observation, children imitate because they themselves are imitated by caregivers. This interaction enables a cultural transfer of knowledge, which, through generations' efforts, consequently leads to the development of human beings," says Markus Paulus.
In this research, Paulus recorded the interaction between mother and child over several months. The babies came into the lab for the first time at the age of 6 months, while their final visit was when they were 18 months old. As they engaged in various play situations, the interactions and imitations of mother and child were analyzed. The long-term study showed what the more sensitive a mother was in her interactions with her six-month-old child and the more often she imitated the baby, the greater the child's overall ability was at the age of 18 months.
Paulus' research shows that mutual imitation is the keystone of knowledge transfer, through which children successfully learn various skills, such as how to use objects, waving and acquisition of language. "This interaction is the nucleus of learning and, finally, gives rise to evolutionary success of human," says Paulus.
"Culural learning is an essential part of human evolution, and it is rooted in the imitation of others, particularly oun caregivers during our earliest childhood," says Paulus. "Through this, we learn from each other and pass on knowledge to the next generation, so certain actions or techniques do not have to be constantly invented again."
