Viewing imitation as child responsiveness: a link between teaching and discipline domains of socialization

The authors observed 106 children's imitation and responses to maternal control at 14 and 22 months. Imitation was observed in a teaching task in which mothers modeled 3 standard pretend-play sequences. Responses to control were observed in typical discipline contexts. Girls imitated more than boys. Responsive imitation measures were coherent and longitudinally stable and correlated significantly with responsiveness to maternal control. The authors propose that a young child's willingness to imitate his or her parent in a teaching context and to comply in a control context both reflect a responsive or receptive stance toward parental socialization. The consistency of children's responsiveness across contexts has implications for both sociomoral and cognitive development.