The Balancing Act: Children’s Trade-Off Between Exploration and Teaching

How do children trade off between exploration and teaching?
We know that adults can be an important source of information for children, but also that children are capable explorers and that sometimes adults don’t teach perfectly. Under which conditions are children most likely to imitate? What leads children to explore more or imitate less? How does reasoning differ between instrumental and social problems? When is relying on teaching from others most important? When is each of these strategies adaptive?

 

 

 

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