Abstract
The Mirror Game (MG) is a common exercise in dance/movement therapy and drama therapy. It is used to promote participants’ ability to enter and remain in a state of togetherness. In spite of the wide use of the MG by practitioners, it is only recently that scientists begun to use the MG in research, examining its correlates, validity, and reliability. This study joins this effort by reporting on the identification of scale items to describe the non-verbal behavior expressed during the MG and its correlation to measures of attachment. Thus, we explored the application of the MG as a tool for assessing the embodiment of attachment in adulthood. Forty-eight participants (22 females, mean age = 33.2) played the MG with the same gender-matched expert players. All MG were videotaped. In addition, participants were evaluated on two central measurements of attachment in adulthood: The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and the Experience in Close Relationship questionnaire (ECR). To analyze the data, we developed the “MG scale” that coded the non-verbal behavior during the movement interaction, using 19 parameters. The sub-scales were reduced using factor analysis into two dimensions referred to as “together” and “free.” The free factor was significantly correlated to both measurements of attachment: Participants classified as having secure attachment on the AAI, received higher scores on the MG free factor than participants classified as insecure [t(46) = 7.858, p = 0.000]. Participants, who were high on the avoidance dimension on the ECR, were low on the MG free factor [r(48) = −0.285, p = 0.007]. This is the first study to examine the MG as it is used by practitioners and its correlation to highly standardized measures. This exploratory study may be considered as part of the first steps of exploring the MG as a standardized assessment tool. The advantages of the MG as a simple, non-verbal movement interaction demonstrate some of the strengths of dance/movement and drama therapy practice.
Highlights
From the day a baby is born, the experience of relating to others is present and the complex weave of self in relation to others is being built
We look at non-verbal interaction in adulthood using a common imitation exercise, the mirror game (MG), used in drama therapy and dance/movement therapy
We found no significant correlation between the attachment scores and demographic variables
Summary
From the day a baby is born, the experience of relating to others is present and the complex weave of self in relation to others is being built. While the systematic assessments of relationships in childhood relay heavily on observation including verbal and non-verbal account (i.e., the strange situation procedure; Ainsworth et al, 1978; the emotional availability scales; Biringen et al, 2000), to date, the systematic examination of relationships in adulthood presented in the literature is based mostly on verbal report as the main source of information. In this preliminary study, we look at non-verbal interaction in adulthood using a common imitation exercise, the mirror game (MG), used in drama therapy and dance/movement therapy. We used the MG to examine the non-verbal expressions of attachment, connecting between a solid psychological construct to the practice of drama therapy and dance/movement therapy
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