Imagining is Not Observing: The Role of Simulation Processes Within the Mimicry-Liking Expressway

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

  • Wojciech Kulesza
  • Nina Chrobot
  • Dariusz Dolinski
  • Paweł Muniak
  • Dominika Bińkowska
  • Tomasz Grzyb
  • Oliver Genschow

Individuals automatically mimic a wide range of different behaviors, and such mimicking behavior has several social benefits. One of the landmark findings in the literature is that being mimicked increases liking for the mimicker. Research in cognitive neuroscience demonstrated that mentally simulating motor actions is neurophysiologically similar to engaging in these actions. Such research would predict that merely imagining being mimicked produces the same results as actually experiencing mimicry. To test this prediction, we conducted two experiments. In Experiment 1, being mimicked increased liking for the mimicker only when mimicry was directly experienced, but not when it was merely imagined. Experiment 2 replicated this finding within a high-powered online sample: merely imagining being mimicked does not produce the same effects as being actually mimicked. Theoretical and practical implications of these experiments are discussed.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftJournal of Nonverbal Behavior
Jahrgang46
Ausgabenummer3
Seiten (von - bis)233-246
Anzahl der Seiten14
ISSN0191-5886
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.09.2022
Extern publiziertJa

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DOI