Abstract
<p class="p1">Previous research on nonconscious mimicry suggests that females mimic their communication partners more often than males. Many studies have investigated the association between mimicry, emotion recognition, and empathy. However, there is a trend in this research area to recruit same-sex samples, thus neglecting a discussion regarding the role of sex or gender as a moderator of nonconscious mimicry. This article reviews the research on nonconscious mimicry – facial, behavioural, and verbal, in order to identify whether or not there are male and female differences. The results indicate that mimicry may be moderated by participant sex or gender depending upon, among others, choice of mimicry measurement, stimulus exposure length, and social context. However, few studies address male and female differences in mimicry and many have methodological limitations. The review concludes with a discussion and recommendations for future research.
Highlights
MethodsA search was conducted in October 2015 using the following databases: PsychInfo, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar
Study Characteristics Taking into consideration all of the articles identified in the database search that included a mimicry paradigm, only 22% reported the inclusion of sex or gender in their analyses
The results revealed no significant effect of participant sex; upon further exploration, a trend was identified indicating more facial mimicry of happy faces among female participants
Summary
A search was conducted in October 2015 using the following databases: PsychInfo, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Articles were required to be written in English and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The search terms used were (“mimic” OR “mimicry”) AND (“emotion” OR “behavior” OR “behaviour” OR “facial”). Search results were screened for relevancy using title and abstract information. Remaining articles were read through to determine inclusion ability.
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