Mimicking the behaviour of mum and dad has long been
considered a vital way in which children learn about the world around them.
Now psychologists at The University of Nottingham have shown
that copying unnecessary behaviour is more likely to be a social phenomenon
than part of the practical process of acquiring new skills.
In their study, published today in the journal Current
Biology, the scientists found that autistic children, who have profound
difficulty in engaging in social situations, were less likely to copy unnecessary
behaviour when learning a new task.