Children imitate while chimps don't

"Children learn by Monkey See, Monkey Do. Chimps Don't." points out a research on when chimps are shown how to get something inside a clear plastic box, all the extra unneeded steps (like move a bolt back and forth and tap with a stick on top of the box) were skipped.

When they did the same to children, they almost always faithfully followed what they were told. Even when they (the children) could see that the steps are not needed but feel the need to follow authority figures (i.e., the lab assistants).

What's the lesson? As I've pointed out before, how one lives and behaves as parents have more impact than what we force them to hear (model the life they should live, not just mouth it). The other is that children are impressionable and they shouldn't be left with any others than the parents for education. (Or why child abuse is easily perpetrated by teachers, police officers, pastors and other leaders.)