The University of Concordia reports that even in infancy humans can delineate between credible and non-credible sources. The study, published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development, examined a group of 60 infants.
“This [study] shows infants will imitate behavior from a reliable adult,” says second author Ivy Brooker, “In contrast, the same behavior performed by an unreliable adult is interpreted as irrational or inefficient, therefore not worth imitating.”