Which statement about imitation is true?
A) Newborn chimpanzees imitate more facial expressions and gestures than human infants, and their imitative behavior does not decline.
B) Imitation is harder to induce in newborns than in babies 2 to 3 months old because newborns cannot learn by observing others.
C) Babies several months old often do not imitate an adult's behavior right away because they first try to play familiar social games.
D) Unlike newborn chimpanzees, newborn humans cannot imitate certain gestures, such as head and index-finger movements.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Babies at several months old are beginning to understand social games such as peek-a-boo and therefore may not imitate an adult's behavior right away because they are focused on the familiar game. Option A is false because newborn human infants actually imitate more facial expressions and gestures than newborn chimpanzees, but they do decline in imitative behavior as they get older. Option B is false because newborns are capable of learning by observing others, although they may not have the ability to imitate as readily as older infants. Option D is false because there is no evidence that newborn humans cannot imitate certain gestures.

Which Statement About Imitation Is True