What term describes copying the behaviour of others?

• A. Imitation
• B. Identification
• C. Modelling
• D. Vicarious Reinforcement

Answer: (A)

Imitation is copying the behaviour you’ve seen in others. In observational learning, you watch a model perform a action, remember it, and then reproduce it yourself. This direct act of reproducing the observed action is what imitation describes.

The other terms are related but describe different parts of the process. Modelling is the act of showing the behaviour to be learned—it's what creates the opportunity to imitate. Vicarious reinforcement involves learning about the value of the behaviour by watching the model’s outcomes for consequences (reinforcement or punishment) and this can influence how likely you are to imitate, but it is not the act of copying itself. Identification refers to feeling a connection or similarity to the model, which can increase imitation, but again it’s about the relationship to the model rather than the copying action.