Children recognise the social value of imitation but do not opt for tools that are ‘normative’ if they are also dysfunctional. We investigated whether children would replicate a normative method in a tool-learning task if it was instrumentally functional but less efficient than an alternative. Four- to six-year-old children were presented with a sticker-retrieving task and two equally functional tool options that differed in efficiency. The inefficient tool was highlighted as the normative option. Verbal descriptors that established the normative value of the inefficient tool (e.g., ‘everybody’ uses this) did not motivate children to use it. The majority of children opted for instrumental efficiency over conformity.

中文翻译：

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当效率减弱学龄前儿童的模仿时

孩子们认识到模仿的社会价值，但如果他们也有功能障碍，他们就不会选择“规范”的工具。我们调查了儿童是否会在工具学习任务中复制规范方法，如果它具有工具性功能但效率低于替代方法。向四到六岁的儿童展示了一项贴纸检索任务和两个功能相同但效率不同的工具选项。效率低下的工具被强调为规范选项。确立低效工具的规范价值的语言描述词（例如，“每个人”都使用它）并没有激励儿童使用它。大多数儿童选择工具效率而不是顺从。