Abstract
We tend to like those who mimic us. In this study we formally test if mimicry changes the reward value of the mimicker, using gaze bias as a proxy for reward. Previous research has demonstrated that people show gaze bias towards more rewarding targets, suggesting that gaze bias can be considered a proxy for relative reward value. Forty adults participated in a conditioning task, where they were mimicked by one face and ‘anti-mimicked’ by another. Subsequently, they were found to show gaze-bias towards faces that mimicked them compared to those that did not, in a preferential looking task. The strength of this effect correlated positively with individual levels of trait empathy. In a separate, similar task, these participants showed a gaze bias for faces paired with high vs low monetary rewards, thus validating the use of gaze bias as a proxy for learnt reward. Together, these results demonstrate that mimicry changes the reward value of social stimuli, and empathy influences the extent of this change. This can potentially inform conditions marked by deficits in forming social bonds, such as Autism.
Highlights
Previous research has demonstrated that people show gaze bias towards more rewarding targets, suggesting that gaze bias can be considered a proxy for relative reward value
We systematically tested how manipulating the extent of mimicry associated with a face changes its reward value, measured using gaze bias and self-report ratings of likeability
In line with our hypothesis, we found that mimicry conditioning alters gaze bias within a preferential looking paradigm, in a way that the face associated with greater mimicry is preferred over the one associated with less mimicry
Summary
The overarching goal of this study is to test the mimicry-reward link and its relation to trait empathy. This goal is addressed through three aims: (1) To test whether mimicry conditioning increases gaze bias for mimicking vs anti-mimicking faces. (2) To investigate whether this gaze bias due to mimicry conditioning is modulated by trait empathy. It is hypothesised that individuals higher in trait empathy will have a greater relative reward value for mimicry, and (3) In a separate control experiment on the same sample of individuals, to confirm the validity of gaze bias as a metric for learnt reward value by testing whether reward conditioning (using monetary rewards) increases gaze bias for faces conditioned with high vs low rewards
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