Mimicry in Social Interaction: Its Effect on Human Judgment and Behavior

In this paper the effect of mimicry on social behavior and judgment in social interaction is examined. When a stranger mimics the verbal and nonverbal expressions of somebody, higher positive judgment of the mimicker is found. It was also found that various positive social behaviors such as spontaneous helping behavior, compliance to a request addressed by the mimicker... are more favorably displayed by the person who is mimicked. This paper examines social behaviors that are influenced by mimicry (e.g. helping behavior, consumer behavior, courtship behavior). In the second part of the review, two theoretical explanations of the effect of mimicry are examined. One of them supports the hypothesis that mimicry from an evolutionary perspective is used in social communication to create greater feelings of affiliation and rapport between two individuals. The second hypothesis supports the notion that mimicry enhances familiarity of the mimicker that in return leads the person mimicked to evaluate the mimicker more favorably, to help him/her more favorably and to enhance the compliance rate to his/her request.