Imitation
Imitation is an advanced behavior whereby an action is elicited by an indvidual's observation and subsequent replication of another's behavior. The theories and ideas surrounding imitation can be applied across many disciplines and contexts.
Psychology
Recent work in neuroscience suggests that there are specific mechanisms for imitation in the human brain. It has been proposed that there is a system of mirror neurons. These mirror neurons fire both when an animal performs an action and when the animal observes the same action performed by another animal, especially with a conspecific animal. Thus, the mirror neurons "mirror" the behavior of another animal, as though the observer were himself performing the action. These neurons have been observed in humans, primates, and certain birds. In humans, mirror neurons are localized in Broca's area and the inferior parietal cortex of the brain. Some scientists consider mirror neurons to be one of the most important findings of neuroscience in the last decade.
Despite the evidence that suggests that non-human animals can imitate, there remains some controversy. In her book "The Meme Machine", Susan Blackmore contends that imitation is what makes humans unique among animals. Imitation might have been a characteristic selected by evolution. As those who were skilled at imitation may have had a wider arsenal of culturally learned behavior (i.e. tool making and language).
Anthropology
In anthropology, diffusion theories account for the phenomenon of cultures imitating the ideas or practices of others. Some theories contend that all cultures imitate ideas from one or a several original cultures, possibly creating a series of overlapping cultural circles. Evolutionary diffusion theory affirms that cultures are influenced by one another, but also claims that similar ideas can be developed in isolation.
Sociology
The study of the diffusion of innovation is the study of how, why, and at the rate at which new ideas and technology spread through cultures.
Theories of Innovation Diffusion
French sociologist Gabriel Tarde originally claimed that sociology was based on small psychological interactions among individuals, with the fundamental forces being imitation and innovation.
Diffusion of innovations theory was formalized by Everett Rogers in his book called Diffusion of Innovations (1962). Rogers stated that individuals who adopt any new innovation or idea could be categorized as innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. Each adopter's willingness and ability to adopt an innovation would depend on their awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption. Some of the characteristics of each category of adopters include:
- innovators - venturesome, educated, multiple info sources, greater propensity to take risk
- early adopters - social leaders, popular, educated
- early majority - deliberate, many informal social contacts
- late majority - skeptical, traditional, lower socio-economic status
- laggards - neighbors and friends are main info sources, fear of debt
Rogers also proposed a five stage model for the diffusion of innovation:
- Knowledge - learning about the existence and function of the innovation
- Persuasion - becoming convinced of the value of the innovation
- Decision - committing to the adoption of the innovation
- Implementation - putting it to use
- Confirmation - the ultimate acceptance or rejection of the innovation
The S-Curve and technology adoption
Rogers theorized that innovations would spread through society in an S curve, as the early adopters select the technology first, followed by the majority, until a technology or innovation is commonplace.
The speed of technology adoption is determined by two characteristics p, which is the speed at which adoption takes off, and q, the speed at which later growth occurs. A cheaper technology might have a higher p, for example, taking off more quickly, while a technology that has network effects (e.g. a fax machine, where the value of the item increases as others get it) may have a higher q.
Caveats and Criticisms
Critics of the diffusion of innovations have suggested that it is an overly simplified representation of a complex reality. A number of other phenomena can influence innovation adoption rates. Firstly, these customers often adapt technology to their own needs, so the innovation may actually change in nature as number of users increases. Secondly, disruptive technology may radically change the diffusion patterns for established technology by starting a different competing S-curve. Finally, path dependence may lock certain technologies in place, as in the QWERTY keyboard.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Rogers, Everett M. (1962). Diffusion of Innovation. New York, NY: Free Press.
- Rogers, Everett M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation, Fifth Edition. New York, NY: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-2209-1.
External links
- Federal Reserve of Dallas 1996 Annual Report on Innovation
- The Pencil Metaphor on diffusion of innovation particularly ICT in education
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