The concept of 'The laws of imitation' is a core idea in which theorist's work?

• A. Gabriel Tarde
• B. Edwin Sutherland
• C. Robert Merton
• D. William Sheldon

Answer: (A)

Laws of imitation describe how behaviors spread through society as people copy others they observe, especially those who are similar or influential and with whom they have close contact. Gabriel Tarde is the theorist most closely associated with this idea, since he framed the spread of behaviors—including crime—around imitation among individuals and groups. While Edwin Sutherland later emphasized learning crime through association in his differential association theory, and Merton and Sheldon contributed other criminological perspectives, the explicit concept of the laws of imitation is attributed to Tarde. So the best answer is Gabriel Tarde.