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Medientyp:
E-Artikel
Titel:
Learning by imitation: A hierarchical approach
Beteiligte:
Byrne, Richard W.;
Russon, Anne E.
Erschienen:
Cambridge University Press (CUP), 1998
Erschienen in:Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Sprache:
Englisch
DOI:
10.1017/s0140525x98001745
ISSN:
0140-525X;
1469-1825
Entstehung:
Anmerkungen:
Beschreibung:
<jats:p>To explain social learning without invoking the cognitively
complex concept of imitation, many learning mechanisms have been
proposed. Borrowing an idea used routinely in cognitive psychology,
we argue that most of these alternatives can be subsumed under a
single process, <jats:italic>priming,</jats:italic> in which input increases the
activation of stored internal representations. Imitation itself has
generally been seen as a “special faculty.” This has
diverted much research towards the all-or-none question of whether
an animal can imitate, with disappointingly inconclusive results. In
the great apes, however, voluntary, learned behaviour is organized
<jats:italic>hierarchically.</jats:italic> This means that imitation can occur at
various levels, of which we single out two clearly distinct ones: the
“action level,” a rather detailed and linear specification
of sequential acts, and the “program level,” a broader
description of subroutine structure and the hierarchical layout of a
behavioural “program.” Program level imitation is a
high-level, constructive mechanism, adapted for the efficient
learning of complex skills and thus not evident in the simple
manipulations used to test for imitation in the laboratory. As
examples, we describe the food-preparation techniques of wild
mountain gorillas and the imitative behaviour of orangutans
undergoing “rehabilitation” to the wild. Representing and
manipulating relations between objects seems to be one basic building
block in their hierarchical programs. There is evidence that great
apes suffer from a stricter capacity limit than humans in the
hierarchical depth of planning. We re-interpret some chimpanzee
behaviour previously described as “emulation” and suggest
that all great apes may be able to imitate at the program level.
Action level imitation is seldom observed in great ape skill learning,
and may have a largely social role, even in humans.</jats:p>