Taking someone or something else as a model for action. Children are experts at imitation; adults usually mask it. Imitation is the positive force driving childhood development, adult learning, and the acquisition of virtue. Imitation is neutral—we can either imitate positively (what I refer to as “emulation”) or negatively. The value of imitation is a function of both the model being imitated (where the model stands in relation to you and the quality of that model’s example) and the quality of imitation (rivalrous or non-rivalrous).
Imitation is different than mimesis, which is hidden, masked, disguised–the adult version of childhood imitation.