Understanding Imitation: The Role of Motor and Perceptual Skills

Abstract

Successful imitation is essential to early learning in childhood. Imitation seems to depend upon a host of skills; how the full complement of relevant skills jointly support children's imitation success is not yet fully understood. We investigate relationships between imitation and various skills in a small group of typically developing children, in order to gain a better understanding of the package of skills contributing to children's imitation ability. We focused in particular on children's motor skills, employing several behavioral measures and a parent-report motor questionnaire to assess them. As predicted, children's level of motor skill, visual-motor integration ability, self-regulation and social understanding, and memory for action appeared to predict imitation success, even while controlling for age. We also found that certain measures of our parent report motor questionnaire accurately measured motor skill and predicted imitation success. These findings support the idea that imitation ability is complex and reflects a number of skills, including motor skills. In addition, the results provide initial support for the utility of the parent-report motor questionnaire.