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In the context of social learning theory, the presence of motivation is essential for an individual to have a desire to copy another’s behavior. Motivation drives the individual to consider and ultimately replicate behaviors that they observe in others. This motivation can stem from various sources, such as the perceived benefits of the behavior, the observer's personal desire to achieve similar outcomes, or emotional responses to the behavior being modeled. For instance, if someone sees another person gaining social approval or material rewards from a specific behavior, they may be motivated to imitate that behavior in hopes of achieving similar rewards.

While attention is necessary to notice the behavior and retention is important for remembering it, and modeling refers to the behavior being demonstrated, without motivation, there would be no incentive or desire to imitate the observed actions. Hence, motivation plays a crucial role in the process of learning through observation and is a central factor in determining whether an individual will choose to replicate someone else’s behavior.