Mothers adjust their demonstrations based on children’s imitation task performance

Abstract As children grow, they increasingly encounter situations requiring them to follow multiple steps to manipulate objects or perform actions. This study examines how caregivers adjust their instructional behavior when a child fails to correctly execute part of a multi-step procedure. Thirty-two mothers demonstrated to their 2–3-year-old children how to use a novel toy with three action sequences. A motion capture system measured the movements of each mother’s hand during demonstrations to assess whether mothers modulated their motions during each manipulation phase. Analyses revealed that mothers changed their demonstrations depending on their children’s imitation task performance. Specifically, mothers shortened their demonstrations for the parts that the children could perform and emphasized their movements for the parts that the children could not perform. This study reveal that, unlike in previous studies, infant-directed actions may contain strategies that are more understandable to children depending on the purpose of the action.