The previous blog in this series introduced some of the communicative benefits of copying our conversation partners’ words and hand gestures. But what about the social effects of copying each other? This blog introduces the social risks and rewards of mimicry.
Mimicking non-verbal behavior can make you more likeable
If you ask Google or ChatGPT for some “psychological tricks to make people like you more”, one of the top pieces of advice you get is to “try to copy their body language, gestures, and facial expressions”. This suggests that mimicking non-verbal behavior should make you more likeable, but is there any scientific support for this?
A study by researchers at New York University showed that people tend to nonconsciously mimic their conversation partner’s non-verbal behavior, such as foot-shaking and face-rubbing. They also found that when people are mimicked by their conversation partner, they like their partner more and think the conversation went more smoothly than when they were not mimicked. This is known as the chameleon effect: we take on the non-verbal behavior of our environment, and blending in makes us more likeable.
Not all mimicking is good
Copying a conversation partner can have positive social effects, but only if it’s done the right way. If it’s done wrong, the consequences can be negative, breaking rapport and making you less likeable. Take mockery as an example: if you mock someone by repeating what they have said and how they behave in order to make fun of them, it wouldn’t be surprising if they stop engaging with you, and it could damage your reputation with others, too.
But not all negative mimicry is as obvious as mockery. Some research has shown that anatomical mimicry also reduces likeability. Natural mimicry is mirror-wise, which means that people copy each other’s behavior as if they are looking in a mirror. They move their right hand to the right if their partner moves their left hand to the left. In contrast, during anatomical mimicry, a person moves their left hand when their partner moves their left hand. This makes it look like the two people facing each other are moving their hands in opposite directions. Researchers found that when people are mimicked anatomically like this, they like their conversation partner less than when they are not mimicked at all. This suggests that even subtle differences in how you mimic someone can have consequences!
So, are the rewards of mimicry worth the risks?
Copying the person you are interacting with can increase or decrease your likeability depending on how you do it. The key is naturalness. The best way to mimic someone is to be yourself and allow it to happen without consciously trying. But if you can’t help consciously thinking about it (especially now that you’ve read this!), just try to keep copying small and mirror-wise. Eventually it will become less conscious again, and you’ll be able to go back to benefiting from the positive effects of natural mimicry, naturally.
References
- Chartrand, T. L., & Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception–behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(6), 893–910. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.76.6.893
- Casasanto, D., Casasanto, L. S., Gijssels, T., & Hagoort, P. (2020). The reverse chameleon effect: Negative social consequences of anatomical mimicry. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1876. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01876
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