Imitation and interindividual differences: Belief in free will is not related to automatic imitation

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

It is well known that individuals have the tendency to automatically imitate each other and that such imitative behavior is fostered by perceiving intentions in others' actions. That is, past research has shown that perceiving an action as internally driven enhances the shared representation of observed and executed actions increasing automatic imitation. An interpersonal factor that increases the perception that a behavior is internally driven is belief in free will. Consequently, we hypothesized that the more individuals believe in free will, the more they automatically imitate others. To test this prediction, we conducted two high-powered (total N = 642) and preregistered studies in which we assessed automatic imitation with the imitation-inhibition task. Contrary to our predictions, belief in free will did not correlate with automatic imitation. This finding contributes to current findings challenging the assumption that automatic imitation is modulated by interindividual differences. Further theoretical implications are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103374
JournalActa Psychologica
Volume219
Number of pages11
ISSN0001-6918
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.09.2021
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG; grant number GE 3040/2-1 ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

    Research areas

  • Automatic imitation, Free will belief, Intention, Interindividual differences, Top-down modulation
  • Business psychology

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Michaela Stecher

Publications

  1. Frame-based Optimal Design
  2. Mechanisms of dialectical change
  3. Sprache und Sprachgebrauch untersuchen in der Primarstufe
  4. Contested Promises
  5. Web-based guided self-help for employees with depressive symptoms (Happy@Work)
  6. Non-acceptances in context
  7. Integration of expertise or collaborative practice?
  8. Tree species and functional traits but not species richness affect interrill erosion processes in young subtropical forests
  9. Testing Lazear's jack-of-all-trades view of entrepreneurship with German micro data
  10. Nutzen – Nutzung - Nutzer_innen
  11. Teaching TetR to recognize a new inducer
  12. Developing and Evaluating Entrepreneurship Curricula
  13. An existential perspective on the psychological function of shamans
  14. A learning factory approach on machine learning in production companies
  15. Globalization’s limits to the environmental state? Integrating telecoupling into global environmental governance
  16. Reframing Business Sustainability Decision-Making with Value-Focussed Thinking
  17. Green Big Data: A Green IT/Green IS Perspective on Big Data
  18. The “distinctiveness of cities” and distinctions in cities
  19. Förderung von Gesundheitskompetenzen mit Location-based Games. Eine partizipative Entwicklung
  20. The contribution of material circularity to sustainability—Recycling and reuse of textiles
  21. Handbuch Integrated Reporting
  22. Globalisierung
  23. ephemera: theory & politics in organization
  24. Weiterentwicklung der Unternehmensberichterstattung
  25. Low genetic diversity of a high mountain burnet moth species in the Pyrenees
  26. Optimierung und Überbietung
  27. Kunst und Globalisierung
  28. Einführung – Die fragile Autorität der Judikative
  29. A Sociological Reflection on the Concert Venue
  30. The legal framework and an overview of electoral legislation
  31. Die Inszenierung des mobilen Selbst
  32. Organizational Behaviour - Verhalten in Organisationen
  33. Grundkonzeption einer 'Kritischen Theorie der Hybridität' und Implikationen für "nachhaltige Wissenschaften"
  34. Astronaut
  35. Transmitting Culture within Linguistic Alterity
  36. Paradigma III Fundamentaltheologisch IV. Ethisch
  37. "Wir sind immer noch sprachlos"
  38. Neuluthertum II. Theologiegeschichtlich
  39. Überwachung operationeller Risiken mit Frühwarnindikatoren
  40. Abschreiben – Ein Problem in mathematischen Lehrveranstaltungen?
  41. Expression of cyclooxygenase isozymes during morphogenesis and cycling of pelage hair follicles in mouse skin.
  42. Corporate Difference
  43. Die Moderationsmethode als Mittel zur Gestaltung von Präventions- und Kooperationsprojekten
  44. Die schriftliche Berichterstattung des Aufsichts- und Verwaltungsrats zur Internen Revision
  45. The effects of light and soil conditions on the species richness of the ground vegetation of deciduous forests in northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein)
  46. The Termination of International Sanctions
  47. Talking to the Holy Spirit and Growling with the Bears
  48. § 257 HGB
  49. Nachwort in "Suchen wir Zarzura"