Abstract
Bodily mimicry often makes the mimickee have more positive feelings about the mimicker. Yet, little is known about the causes of mimicry’s social effects. When people mimic each other’s bodily movements face to face, they can either adopt a mirrorwise perspective (moving in the same absolute direction) or an anatomical perspective (moving in the same direction relative to their own bodies). Mirrorwise mimicry maximizes visuo-spatial similarity between the mimicker and mimickee, whereas anatomical mimicry maximizes the similarity in the states of their motor systems. To compare the social consequences of visuo-spatial and motoric similarity, we asked participants to converse with an embodied virtual agent (VIRTUO), who mimicked their head movements either mirrorwise, anatomically, or not at all. Compared to participants who were not mimicked, those who were mimicked mirrorwise tended to rate VIRTUO more positively, but those who were mimicked anatomically rated him more negatively. During face-to-face conversation, mirrorwise and anatomical mimicry have opposite social consequences. Results suggest that visuo-spatial similarity between mimicker and mimickee, not similarity in motor system activity, gives rise to the positive social effects of bodily mimicry.
Highlights
People often mimic each others’ bodily movements spontaneously: This tendency to mimic others automatically has been called the Chameleon Effect (Chartrand and Bargh, 1999)
There was no opportunity for multicollinearity, since the there was only one independent variable of interest (Mimicry Condition), which was uncorrelated with the only control variable that was added to the model
Differences across mimicry conditions were first analyzed using an omnibus linear regression, with subjects modeled as a repeated random effect, which showed that Mimicry Type (Anatomical Mimicry, No Mimicry, Mirror Mimicry) was a significant predictor of participants’ Positivity Index scores
Summary
People often mimic each others’ bodily movements spontaneously: This tendency to mimic others automatically has been called the Chameleon Effect (Chartrand and Bargh, 1999). The mimicker’s movements are similar to the mimickee’s visuo-spatially, because they are oriented in the same absolute direction. The mimicker’s movements are more similar to the mimickee’s motorically: their movements may go in different directions, the mimicker and mimickee plan and execute the same actions, The Reverse Chameleon Effect using the same effectors, rather than using their homologs on the opposite side of the body. Chartrand and Bargh (1999) posit that creating “similarity” between the mimicker and mimickee is of critical importance for the Chameleon Effect, but it has remained unclear what kind of similarity is responsible for the positive consequences of mimicry: visuo-spatial or motoric.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
