Abstract
<p>This study is aimed at examining how perceived authority and expertise play in tantum to influence overimitation and knowledge transmission. We will adapt a previous two-phase paradigm (Mackie et al., 2025) and use a classic puzzlebox (Horner &amp; Whiten, 2005) to examine the influence of perceived authority and expertise on imitative behavior, set up in a pretend context of visiting a toy factory to learn about toys. Five- to 10-year-old children and young adults will observe a non-expert-authority figure (a toy factory boss) and an expert figure (a toy maker) demonstrate efficient and less-efficient methods for operating the classic puzzlebox. This will be followed by a transmission phase in which participants teach a third party how to operate the same puzzlebox. We will also explore whether each irrelevant action type will be imitated at different rate, which promises to offer novel insights into children’s and adults’ high-fidelity imitation.</p>