Cognitive mechanisms for responding to mimicry from others

Abstract

unclear how the complex behavioural effects of mimicry relate to neural systems which respond to being mimicked. Mimicry activates regions associated with mirror properties, selfother processing and reward. In this review, we outline three potential models linking these regions with cognitive consequences of being mimicked. The models suggest that positive downstream consequences of mimicry may depend upon self-other overlap, detection of contingency or low prediction error. Finally, we highlight limitations with traditional research designs and suggest alternative methods for achieving highly ecological validity and experimental control. We also highlight unanswered questions which may guide future research. Keywords: mimicry, imitation, nonverbal behaviour, neurocognitive modelsIt is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and copying what other people do is a central feature of human social interaction (Frith & Frith, 2012; Hamilton, 2014; Meltzoff, 2010; Over & Carpenter, 2013). One way we copy others is through unconscious behavioural mimicry, also described as 'behaviour matching' (Bernieri & Rosenthal, 1991;Chartrand & Bargh, 1999) or the 'chameleon effect' (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999). This kind of mimicry occurs when one person unintentionally and effortlessly copies another person's posture or body movements without either one being aware (Chartrand & Lakin, 2013;Chartrand & van Baaren, 2009). Mimicry may extend to the contagion of facial expressions (Bavelas, Black, Lemery, & Mullett, 1986, 1987 Dimberg, Thunberg, & Elmehed, 2000;Hsee, Hatfield, Carlson, & Chemtob, 1990), moods (Hsee et al., 1990;Neumann & Strack, 2000) and speech (Giles & Powesland, 1975;Neumann & Strack, 2000).As well as mimicry, there are many other ways we coordinate our behaviour with other people during social interactions (Table 1). The umbrella term 'interpersonal coordination' covers a range of coordinated actions between two people, which can be linked in both space and time. Actions occurring at the same time are described as entrained or synchronous; this includes perfect synchrony where actions are matched in form and timing, as well as general synchrony where different actions are coordinated in time (see Table 1, column 1). Actions that occur after a delay but which are contingent on the other are termed imitation or mimicry if the form is the same, and complementary if the form is different (see column 2). There is a distinction between imitation, which is deliberate and goal-directed,and mimicry, which is unconscious and spontaneous. In this paper we will focus specifically on mimicry. For the main part we will limit our review to mimicry of postures and body movements, and we will not include literature on facial, emotional or vocal mimicry. We will also concentrate on adult mimicry rather than developmental literature. At the end, we will return to consider how future research may situate mimicry within a wider framework of interpersonal coordination. Whilst partners in real life social interac...

Reduced reward‐related neural response to mimicry in individuals with autism

“…This study, as several other previous studies in a recent systematic review, lends further evidence to the reward‐related/positive response to being mimicked (Hale & Hamilton, ). It opens up broader theoretical questions on why should being mimicked lead to a reward‐related response.…”

Adults imitate to send a social signal

“…First, if imitation is being used as a social signal, what message is being sent? Previous work has suggested that imitation signals a desire to affiliate (Chartrand & Lakin, 2012) but positive effects of being imitated are not always seen (Hale & Hamilton, 2016a;Verberne, Ham, & Midden, 2015). Kinematic patterns can also signal informative intentions (McEllin, Sebanz, & Knoblich, 2018) or confidence (Patel, Fleming, & Kilner, 2012) which could be important here.…”

Putting Ourselves in Another’s Skin: Using the Plasticity of Self-Perception to Enhance Empathy and Decrease Prejudice

“…Similarly, Sacheli and colleagues (2015) found that when interacting with an in-group but not an out-group avatar the actions of the other person interfered with people's own action execution and that this effect was mediated by participant's implicit racial bias. Further evidence of prejudice affecting bodily interaction with others come from studies of mimicry, the unconscious tendency we have to imitate the facial and bodily movements of others, which is thought to be a method of increasing affiliation (Chartrand & Lakin, 2013;Hale & Hamilton, 2016). This tendency to mimic another person is reduced when the person belongs to a social or racial out-group (Bourgeois & Hess, 2008;Liebert et al, 1972;Losin, Iacoboni, Martin, Cross, & Dapretto, 2012;Neely, Heckel, & Leichtman, 1973;van der Schalk et al, 2011;Weisbuch & Ambady, 2008), and the extent to which we mimic out-group members is negatively related to our implicit prejudice against them.…”