Validation of an online imitation-inhibition task

People automatically imitate a wide range of different behaviors. One of the most commonly used measurement methods to assess imitative behavior is the imitation-inhibition task (Brass et al., 2000). A disadvantage of its original form is, however, that it was validated for laboratory settings—a time-consuming and costly procedure. Here, we present an approach for conducting the imitation-inhibition task in online settings. We programmed the online version of the imitation-inhibition task in JavaScript and implemented the task in online survey software (i.e., Qualtrics). We validated the task in four experiments. Experiment 1 (N = 88) showed that the typical automatic imitation effects can be detected with good psychometric properties. Going one step further, Experiment 2 (N = 182) directly compared the online version of the imitation-inhibition task with its laboratory version and demonstrated that the online version produces similar strong and reliable effects. In Experiments 3 and 4, we assessed typical moderator effects that were previously reported in laboratory settings: Experiment 3 (N = 93) demonstrated that automatic imitation can be reliably detected in online settings even when controlling for spatial compatibility. Experiment 4 (N = 104) found, in line with previous research, that individuals imitate hand movements executed by a robot less strongly than movements executed by a human. Taken together, the results show that the online version of the imitation-inhibition task offers an easy-to-use method that enables the measurement of automatic imitation with common online survey software tools in a reliable and valid fashion.