ABSTRACT Human infants seem to make positive social inferences about individuals who imitate others. In three preregistered experiments we test if these inferences include an expectation that imitators will be helpful, and also ask if the inferences infants make are about imitators' dispositions or primarily about their relationships. In each experiment 8‐ to 9‐month‐old infants saw one individual imitate, and another individual not imitate, the same target social partner. When the imitator and non‐imitator had the opportunity to help the target individual they had previously interacted with, infants looked longer when the non‐imitator helped than when the imitator helped. However, when the potential recipient of help was a new social partner, infants' looking did not differ when the imitator or non‐imitator helped. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that infants perceive imitation as prosocial or affiliative and thus expect imitators to be helpful. However, these expectations are limited to inferences about a specific prosocial relationship between the imitator and their target.

Bill Pepe

Lindsey J. Powell

Infancy

Infancy, the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies, emphasizes the highest quality original research on normal and aberrant infant development during the first two years. Both human and animal research are included. In addition to regular length research articles and brief reports (3000-word maximum), the journal includes solicited target articles along with a series of commentaries; debates, in which different theoretical positions are presented along with a series of commentaries; and thematic collections, a group of three to five reports or summaries of research on the same issue, conducted independently at different laboratories, with invited commentaries.

Infancy, the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies, focuses on high-quality original research regarding both normal and atypical infant development during the first two years of life. The journal includes both human and animal studies. In addition to regular-length research articles and brief reports (maximum 3000 words), it features solicited target articles, debates presenting different theoretical perspectives along with commentaries, and thematic collections comprising three to five independent research reports or summaries on the same issue, accompanied by invited commentaries.

《Infancy》是国际婴儿研究学会的官方期刊，专注于高质量的原创研究，涵盖正常和异常的婴儿发展，特别是在生命的前两年。期刊接受人类和动物的研究。除了常规的研究文章和简短报告（最多3000字），期刊还包括特邀的主题文章、辩论（不同理论观点的呈现及其评论）以及专题集合（由三到五篇独立于不同实验室进行的研究报告或总结组成，并附有特邀评论）。

Infants' Expectations for Helping in Imitators

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL	3