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Abstract

This study investigated influences of group membership on preschoolers’ (N = 174) over-imitation, focusing on artificially formed minimal groups. Children observed an ingroup or outgroup model demonstrating an inefficient strategy. We tested whether group membership influenced the elicitation of over-imitation (Phase 1). Subsequently, they observed an outgroup/ingroup model demonstrating an efficient strategy and we tested whether group membership influenced the persistence of over-imitation when a more efficient solution is available (Phase 2). Although we found a significant increase in over-imitation with an increasing emphasis of group membership during group formation, over-imitation rates were not affected by group membership of the model. It did not make a difference whether children observed either strategy by an ingroup or outgroup model. We conclude that minimal group membership itself did not affect children’s tendency to over-imitate. Nevertheless, we assume that children’s over-imitation was influenced by general aspects of the group formation process, such as the playful context which was created prior to the demonstrations.