Mimicry

Mimicry is the behavior of observing and replicating the actions of others. It is essentially the social imitation of others and can be conscious (deliberate) or unconscious. It is one of many social learning behaviors that are transmitted from one generation to the next thus ensuring the transmission of culture. This is a component of learned gender roles like girls being taught that cooking and cleaning are important parts of female behavior while boys learn that woodworking and car repair are part of the male identity. Likewise, there are multitude of other skills that are learned through mimicry; no one is born knowing how to answer a phone or rake a lawn. These are skills that are frequently learned through mimicry.