One of the earliest impulses to develop in human beings is that of mimicry. For all of the fascinating changes that a baby goes through on their way to becoming a toddler, this is perhaps the most complex. The need to look like someone else, or something else, isn’t just a desire that gets enacted at the time of year when people are wearing Halloween costumes , but in fact seems to be much more connected to the very basic instincts.
The reasons for this are perhaps as complicated as the action itself. Wanting to act like something else is usually an instinct that comes from wanting to understand. As the human being begins to develop, their capacity for observation is enormous. They watch other people, especially the parents, and start to become used to how they behave.
By the beginning of the first year the capacity is already very well-established. They can imitate people and animals, and seem to have a natural sense for the potential for laughter in imitation. It seems to be a remarkably human function, but of course, it’s not.
Plants and animals also have very highly tuned instincts for imitation. Here, it’s something that’s developed out of the natural instincts for survival. By adopting characteristics of the stronger of the species, they can make themselves more invulnerable. It’s fascinating to see how this works its way into human behavior, and how it’s modified to become something of a source for entertainment, rather than simply survival.