Skip to main content
Log in

Imitation: definitions, evidence, and mechanisms

Animal Cognition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Imitation can be defined as the copying of behavior. To a biologist, interest in imitation is focused on its adaptive value for the survival of the organism, but to a psychologist, the mechanisms responsible for imitation are the most interesting. For psychologists, the most important cases of imitation are those that involve demonstrated behavior that the imitator cannot see when it performs the behavior (e.g., scratching one's head). Such examples of imitation are sometimes referred to as opaque imitation because they are difficult to account for without positing cognitive mechanisms, such as perspective taking, that most animals have not been acknowledged to have. The present review first identifies various forms of social influence and social learning that do not qualify as opaque imitation, including species-typical mechanisms (e.g., mimicry and contagion), motivational mechanisms (e.g., social facilitation, incentive motivation, transfer of fear), attentional mechanisms (e.g., local enhancement, stimulus enhancement), imprinting, following, observational conditioning, and learning how the environment works (affordance learning). It then presents evidence for different forms of opaque imitation in animals, and identifies characteristics of human imitation that have been proposed to distinguish it from animal imitation. Finally, it examines the role played in opaque imitation by demonstrator reinforcement and observer motivation. Although accounts of imitation have been proposed that vary in their level of analysis from neural to cognitive, at present no theory of imitation appears to be adequate to account for the varied results that have been found.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Notes

  1. There is a growing trend toward an integration of the biological and psychological approaches (see, e.g., Bjorklund and Bering 2003; Caldwell and Whiten 2002; Hare and Tomasello 2005).

References

  • Akins CK, Klein ED, Zentall TR (2002) Imitative learning in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) using the bidirectional control procedure. Anim Learn Behav 30:275–281

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Akins CK, Zentall TR (1996) Imitative learning in male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) using the two-action method. J Comp Psychol 110:316–320

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Akins CK, Zentall TR (1998) Imitation in Japanese quail: The role of reinforcement of the demonstrator's response. Psychon Bull Rev 5:694–697

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong EA (1951) The nature and function of animal mimesis. Bull Anim Behav 9:46–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball J (1938) A case of apparent imitation in a monkey. J Genet Psychol 52:439–442

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura A (1969) Social learning theory of identificatory processes. In: Goslin DA (ed) Handbook of socialization theory and research. Rand-McNally, Chicago, pp 213–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Baptista LF, Petrinovich L (1984) Social interaction, sensitive phases, and the song template hypothesis in the white-crowned sparrow. Anim Behav 32:172–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayroff AG, Lard KE (1944) Experimental social behavior of animals. III. Imitational learning of white rats. J Comp Physiol Psychol 37:165–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Bjorklund DF, Bering JM (2003) A note on the development of deferred imitation in enculturated juvenile chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Develop Rev 23:389--412

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd R, Richerson PJ (1988) An evolutionary model of social learning: The effect of spatial and temporal variation. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 29–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Breuggeman JA (1973) Parental care in a group of free-ranging rhesus monkeys. Folia Primatol 20:178–210

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown PL, Jenkins HM (1968) Auto-shaping the pigeon's key peck. J Exp Anal Behav 11:1–8

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bunch GB, Zentall TR (1980) Imitation of a passive avoidance response in the rat. Bull Psychon Soc 15:73–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne RW (1994) The evolution of intelligence. In: Slater PJB, Halliday TR (eds) Behavior and evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 223–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne RW (2002) Imitation of novel complex actions: What does the evidence from animals mean? Adv Stud Behav 31:77–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne RW (2005) Social cognition: Imitation, imitation, imitation. Curr Biol 15:498–500

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell CA, Whiten A (2002) Evolutionary perspectives on imitation: Is a comparative psychology of social learning possible? Anim Cogn 5:193–208

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Call J (2001) Body imitation in an enculturated orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Cybernet Syst 32:97–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chesler P (1969) Maternal influence in learning by observation in kittens. Science 166:901–903

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Church RM (1957) Two procedures for the establishment of imitative behavior. J Comp Physiol Psychol 50:315–318

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Corson JA (1967) Observational learning of a lever pressing response. Psychon Sci 7:197–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Custance DM, Bard KA (1994) The comparative and developmental study of self-recognition and imitation: The importance of social factors. In: Parker ST, Mitchell RW, Boccia ML (eds) Self-awareness in humans and animals: Developmental perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 207–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Custance DM, Whiten A, Bard KA (1995) Can young chimpanzees imitate arbitrary actions? Hayes and Hayes revisited. Behaviour 132:839–858

    Google Scholar 

  • Custance DM, Whiten A, Fredman T (1999) Social learning of artificial fruit capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). J Comp Psychol 113:13–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davitz JR, Mason DJ (1955) Socially facilitated reduction of a fear response in rats. J Comp Physiol Psychol 48:149–151

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson BV, Foss BM (1965) Observational learning in budgerigars. Anim Behav 13:470–474

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Del Russo JE (1971) Observational learning in hooded rats. Psychon Sci 24:37–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Del Russo JE (1975) Observational learning of discriminative avoidance in hooded rats. Anim Learn Behav 3:76–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Denny MR, Clos CF, Bell RC (1988) Learning in the rat of a choice response by observation of S-S contingencies. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 207–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorrance BR, Zentall TR (2001) Imitative learning in Japanese quail depends on the motivational state of the observer at the time of observation. J Comp Psychol 115:62–67

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dugatkin LA (1992) Sexual selection and imitation: Females copy the mate choice of others. Am Nat 139:1384–1389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dugatkin LA (1996) Copying and mate choice. In: Heyes CM, Galef BG (eds) Social learning in animals: The roots of culture. Academic, San Diego, CA, pp 85–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Dugatkin LA, Godin JGJ (1992) Reversal of female mate choice by copying. Proc R Soc Lond B 249:179–184

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards CA, Hogan DE, Zentall TR (1980) Imitation of an appetitive discriminatory task by pigeons. Bird Behav 2:87–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiorito G, Scotto P (1992) Observational learning in Octopus vulgaris. Science 256:545–546

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher J, Hinde RA (1949) Further observations on the opening of milk bottles by birds. Br Birds 42:347–357

    Google Scholar 

  • Galef BG Jr (1988a) Communication of information concerning distant diets in a social, central-place foraging species: Rattus norvegicus. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 119–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Galef BG Jr (1988b) Imitation in animals: History, definition, and interpretation of data from the psychological laboratory. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 3–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Galef BG Jr (1996) Social enhancement of food preferences in Norway rats: A brief review. In: Heyes CM, Galef BG (eds) Social learning in animals: The roots of culture. Academic, San Diego, CA, pp 49–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Galef BG Jr, Durlach PJ (1993) Absence of blocking, overshadowing and latent inhibition in social enhancement of food preferences. Anim Learn Behav 21:214–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Galef BG Jr, Manzig LA, Field RM (1986) Imitation learning in budgerigars: Dawson and Foss (1965) revisited. Behav Processes 13:191–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallese V, Fadiga L, Fogassi L, Rizzolatti G (1996) Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain 119:593–609

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gallup GG Jr (1970) Chimpanzees: Self recognition. Science 167:86–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia J, Koelling RA (1966) Relation of cue to consequence in avoidance learning. Psychon Sci 4:123–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner EL, Engel DR (1971) Imitational and social facilitatory aspects of observational learning in the laboratory rat. Psychon Sci 25:5–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Gergely G, Bekkering H, Király I (2002) Rational imitation in preverbal infants. Nature 415:755

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gleissner B, Meltzoff AN, Bekkering H (2000) Children's coding of human action: Cognitive factors influencing imitation in 3-year-olds. Dev Sci 3:405–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson J (1979) The ecological approach to visual perception. Houghton Mifflin, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Groesbeck RW, Duerfeldt PH (1971) Some relevant variables in observational learning of the rat. Psychon Sci 22:41–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare B, Call J, Agnetta B, Tomasello M (2000) Chimpanzees know what conspecifics do and do not see. Anim Behav 59:771–785

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hare B, Tomasello M (2005) Response: The emotional reactivity hypothesis and cognitive evolution. Trends Cogn Sci 9:464–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haruki Y, Tsuzuki T (1967) Learning of imitation and learning through imitation in the white rat. Annu Anim Psychol 17:57–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes KJ, Hayes C (1952) Imitation in a home-reared chimpanzee. J Comp Physiol Psychol 45:450–459

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henning JM, Zentall TR (1981) Imitation, social facilitation, and the effects of ACTH 4-10 on rats’ barpress behavior. Am J Psychol 94:125–134

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Herbert MJ, Harsh CM (1944) Observational learning by cats. J Comp Psychol 37:81–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hess EH (1973) Imprinting. Van Nostrand/Reinhold, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Heyes CM (1994) Reflections on self-recognition in primates. Anim Behav 47:909–919

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heyes CM, Dawson GR (1990) A demonstration of observational learning in rats using a bidirectional control. Q J Exp Psychol B 42:59–71

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heyes CM, Jaldow E, Dawson GR (1994) Imitation in rats: Conditions of occurrence in a bidirectional control procedure. Learn Motiv 25:276–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heyes CM, Ray ED (2000) What is the significance of imitation in animals. Adv Stud Behav 29:215–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinde RA (ed) (1969) Bird vocalizations. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogan DE (1988) Learned imitation by pigeons. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 225–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoogland JL, Sherman PW (1976) Advantages and disadvantages of bank swallow (Riparia riparia) coloniality. Ecol Monogr 46:33–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huffman MA (1996) The study of nonhuman primate culture in Japan. In: Heyes CM, Galef BG (eds) Social learning in animals: The roots of culture. Academic, San Diego, CA, pp 267–289

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacoby KE, Dawson ME (1969) Observation and shaping learning: A comparison using Long-Evans rats. Psychon Sci 16:257–258

    Google Scholar 

  • John ER, Chesler P, Bartlett F, Victor I (1968) Observational learning in cats. Science 159:1489–1491

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser DH, Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (1997) Can imitation in pigeons be explained by local enhancement together with trial-and-error learning? Psychol Sci 8:459–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein ED, Zentall TR (2003) Imitation and affordance learning by pigeons (Columba livia). J Comp Psychol 117:414–419

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kohn B (1976) Observation and discrimination learning in the rat: Effects of stimulus substitution. Learn Motiv 7:303–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohn B, Dennis M (1972) Observation and discrimination learning in the rat: Specific and nonspecific effects. J Comp Physiol Psychol 78:292–296

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kovach JK, Hess EH (1963) Imprinting: Effects of painful stimulation upon the following response. J Comp Physiol Psychol 56:461–464

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lefebvre L, Palameta B (1988) Mechanisms, ecology, and population diffusion of socially learned food-finding behavior in feral pigeons. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 141–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Levine JM, Zentall TR (1974) Effect of conspecific's presence on deprived rats performance: Social facilitation vs distraction/imitation. Anim Learn Behav 2:119–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Lore R, Blanc A, Suedfeld P (1971) Empathic learning of a passive avoidance response in domesticated Rattus norvegicus. Anim Behav 19:112–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz K (1935) Der Kumpan in der Umwelt des Vogels: der Artgenosse als ausloesendes Moment sozialer Verhaltensweisen. J Fur Ornithol 83:137–213, 289–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marler P (1970) A comparative approach to vocal learning: Song development in white-crowned sparrows. J Comp Physiol Psychol 71:1–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meltzoff AN (1988) The human infant as homo imitans. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 319–341

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles HL, Mitchell RW, Harper SE (1996) Simon says: The development of imitation in an enculturated orangutan. In: Russon AE, Bard KE, Parker ST (eds) Reaching into thought: The minds of the great apes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 278–299

    Google Scholar 

  • Mineka S, Cook M (1988) Social learning and the acquisition of snake fear in monkeys. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 51–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell CJ, Heyes CM, Dawson GR (1999) Limitations of a bidirectional control procedure for the investigation of imitation in rats: Odour cues on the manipulandum. Q J Exp Psychol 52:193–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell RW (1987) A comparative-developmental approach to understanding imitation. In: Bateson PPG, Klopfer PH (eds) Perspectives in ethology, vol 7. Plenum, New York, pp 183–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell RW (2002) Imitation as a perceptual process. In: Nehaniv CL, Dautenhahn K (eds) Imitation in animals and artifacts. MIT, Cambridge, MA, pp 441–469

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore BR (1992) Avian movement imitation and a new form of mimicry: Tracing the evolution of a complex form of learning. Behaviour 122:231–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison BJ, Hill WF (1967) Socially facilitated reduction of the fear response in rats raised in groups or in isolation. J Comp Physiol Psychol 63:71–76

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen NH, Klein ED, Zentall TR (2005) Imitation of two-action sequences by pigeons. Psychon Bull Rev 12:514–518

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nottebohm F (1970) Ontogeny of bird song. Science 167:950–956

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oldfield-Box H (1970) Comments on two preliminary studies of “observation” learning in the rat. J Genet Psychol 116:45–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Palameta B, Lefebvre L (1985) The social transmission of a food-finding technique in pigeons: What is learned? Anim Behav 33:892–896

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg IM (1986) Acquisition of anomalous communicatory systems: Implications for studies on interspecies communication. In: Schusterman R, Thomas J, Wood F (eds) Dolphin behavior and cognition: Comparative and ethological aspects. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 289–302

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg IM (1988) The importance of social interaction and observation in the acquisition of communicative competence: Possible parallels between avian and human learning. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG Jr (eds) Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 279–299

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepperberg IM (1990) Referential mapping. Appl Psycholinguist 11:23–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piaget J (1962) Play, dreams, and imitation in childhood. Horton, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts D (1941) Imitation and suggestion in animals. Bull Anim Behav 1:11–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Russon AE, Galdikas BMF (1993) Imitation in ex-captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). J Comp Psychol 107:147–161

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanavio E, Savardi U (1980) Observational learning of a discriminative shuttlebox avoidance by rats. Psychol Rep 44:1151–1154

    Google Scholar 

  • Sordahl TA (1981) Slight of wing. Nat Hist 90:42–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence KW (1937) The differential response in animals to stimuli varying within a single dimension. Psychol Rev 44:430–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stimbert VE (1970) A comparison of learning based on social and nonsocial discriminative stimuli. Psychon Sci 20:185–186

    Google Scholar 

  • Strupp BJ, Levitsky DA (1984) Social transmission of food preferences in adult hooded rats (Rattus norvegicus). J Comp Psychol 98:257–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanner J, Byrne RW (1999) Imitation in a captive lowland gorilla: A spontaneous experiment. University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, unpublished manuscript

  • Thorpe WH (1961) Bird song: The biology of vocal communication and expression in birds. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorpe WH (1963) Learning and instinct in animals, 2nd edn. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorpe WH (1967) Vocal imitation and antiphonal song and its implications. In: Snow DW (ed) Proceedings of the XVI International Ornithological Congress. Blackwell, Oxford, UK, pp 245–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinbergen N (1960) The herring gull's world. Doubleday, Garden City, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Todt D (1975) Social learning of vocal patterns and modes of their applications in Grey parrots. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 39:178–188

    Google Scholar 

  • Tolman CW (1964) Social facilitation of feeding behaviour in the domestic chick. Anim Behav 12:245–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello M (1996) Do apes ape? In: Heyes CM, Galef BG (eds) Social learning in animals: The roots of culture. Academic, San Diego, CA, pp 319–346

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello M, Kruger AC, Ratner HH (1993) Cultural learning. Behav Brain Sci 16:495–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner GJR (1984) Mimicry: The palatability spectrum and its consequences. In: Vane-Wright RI, Ackery PR (eds) The biology of butterflies. Academic, New York, pp 141–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanayan M, Robertson H, Biederman GB (1985) Observational learning in pigeons: The effects of model proficiency on observer performance. J Gen Psychol 112:349–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voelkl B, Huber L (2000) True imitation in marmosets. Anim Behav 60:195–202

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Warden CJ, Jackson TA (1935) Imitative behavior in the rhesus monkey. J Genet Psychol 46:103–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Watanabe S, Huber L (2006) Animal logics: Decisions in the absence of human language. Anim Cogn DOI 10.1007/s10071-006-0043-6

  • Weigle PD, Hanson EV (1980) Observation learning and the feeding behavior of the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus): The ontogeny of optimization. Ecology 61:213–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whiten A (1998a) Evolutionary and developmental origins of the mindreading system. In: Langer J, Killen M (eds) Piaget, evolution, and development. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 73–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Whiten A (1998b) Imitation of the sequential structure of actions by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). J Comp Psychol 112:270–281

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whiten A, Custance DM, Gomez J-C, Teixidor P, Bard KA (1996) Imitative learning of artificial fruit processing in children (Homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). J Comp Psychol 110:3–14

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whiten A, Goodall J, McGrew WC, Nishida T, Reynolds V, Sugiyama Y, Tutin CEG, Wrangham RW, Boesch C (1999) Cultures in chimpanzees. Nature 399:682--685

    Google Scholar 

  • Whiten A, Ham R (1992) On the nature and evolution of imitation in the animal kingdom: Reappraisal of a century of research. In: Slater PJB, Rosenblatt JS, Beer C, Milinski M (eds) Advances in the study of behavior, vol 21. Academic, New York, pp 239–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Whiten A, Horner V, Marshall-Pescini S (2004) Selective imitation in child and chimpanzee: A window on the construal of others’ actions. In: Hurley S, Chater N (eds) Perspectives on imitation: From mirror neurons to memes: vol 1. Mechanisms of imitation and imitation in animals. MIT, Cambridge, MA, pp 263–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Will B, Pallaud B, Soczka M, Manikowski S (1974) Imitation of lever pressing “strategies” during the operant conditioning of albino rats. Anim Behav 22:664–671

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zajonc RB (1965) Social facilitation. Science 149:269–274

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zentall TR, Edwards CA, Hogan DE (1983) Pigeons’ use of identity. In: Commons ML, Herrnstein RJ, Wagner A (eds) The quantitative analyses of behavior: Discrimination processes, vol 4. Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp 273–293

    Google Scholar 

  • Zentall TR, Hogan DE (1975) Key pecking in pigeons produced by pairing key light with inaccessible grain. J Exp Anal Behav 23:199–206

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zentall TR, Hogan DE (1976) Imitation and social facilitation in the pigeon. Anim Learn Behav 4:427–430

    Google Scholar 

  • Zentall TR, Levine JM (1972) Observational learning and social facilitation in the rat. Science 178:1220–1221

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zentall TR, Sutton J, Sherburne LM (1996) True imitative learning in pigeons. Psychol Sci 7:343–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

Preparation of the manuscript was facilitated by Grant MH 63726 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas R. Zentall.

Additional information

This contribution is part of the special issue “Animal Logics” (Watanabe and Huber 2006).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zentall, T.R. Imitation: definitions, evidence, and mechanisms. Anim Cogn 9, 335–353 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-006-0039-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-006-0039-2

Keywords

Navigation