"Although rituals such as shaking hands or saying, "bless you" after a sneeze don't make practical sense, these arbitrary social conventions give people a sense of belonging in a particular social group. And according to a new psychology study from The University of Texas at Austin, even preschool children are quick to conform to ritualistic behavior.
"The findings, published online in Cognition, offer new insight into how children learn the rituals and cultural practices of their communities......."
"Attention to social cues and contextual information guides children's imitation, a key component of the development and transmission of cultural knowledge," says Cristine Legare, an assistant professor in psychology at The University of Texas at Austin and co-author of the study.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-09-young-children-quickly-ritualistic-behavior.html
Herrmann, et al. (Sept. 2013). "CHILDREN’S IMITATION OF MULTIPLE ACTORS." Cognition. Full text.
Short on time? Use our Category Search page.
Comments (0)