You Want to Know the Truth? Then Don’t Mimic!

Abstract

Abstract. Clinical psychologists have frequently reported that similarity in movements can be greatly beneficial. It increases rapport and favors a better understanding of clients’ emotions. Social psychologists have shown that mimicking instills greater trust in the mimicker and that mimickees disclose more intimate information. Therefore, mimicry seems to be an ideal tool to implement during therapeutic interventions. However, the current study reveals a potentially perilous outcome stemming from mimicry: mimicked (verbally – Study 1, N = 49; nonverbally – Study 2, N = 40) participants were more eager to cheat the mimicker. This means that incorporating mimicry into the therapeutic process may lead to clients misinforming therapists. The discussion section describes some caveats associated with the experiments and suggests directions for future research.

The impact of mimicry behavior on guilt

“…In the mimicry condition, the experimenter copied the participants' behaviors, such as hand gestures, arm movements, and body position. In the non-mimicry condition, the experimenter sat still and straight with both hands on his lap and both feet on the ground (e.g., Chartrand & Bargh, 1999;Muniak et al, 2021).…”

“…Detailed descriptions of our findings can be found at this link: https://osf.io/6rj8e/ and body position. In the non-mimicry condition, the confederate sat still and straight with both hands on his lap and both feet on the ground (e.g., Chartrand & Bargh, 1999;Muniak et al, 2021).…”

“…For example, mimicry is deployed to build affiliation (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999;Lakin et al, 2003), and at the same time leads to a positive evaluation of the mimicker (e.g., Chartrand & Bargh, 1999;Muniak et al, 2021). In the same vein, mimicry can be modulated by a wide range of social cues, including group membership (e.g., Bourgeois & Hess, 2008), motivation to affiliate (e.g., Lakin et al, 2008).…”

“…This research direction is warranted because mimicry serves an important role as a social glue phenomenon (Dijksterhuis, 2005;Lakin et al, 2003). On the one hand, research shows that mimicry creates liking (e.g., Chartrand & Bargh, 1999;Muniak et al, 2021) as well as trust (Swaab et al, 2011) and promotes a more other-oriented perspective (Ashton-James et al, 2007). Conversely, those who are socially excluded use mimicry directly to re-establish social relationships (Lakin et al, 2008).…”

The Centrality of Human Interaction

“…This study thus exemplifies how social psychology can strongly benefit from knowledge and evidence accrued in clinical psychological work. Muniak et al (2021) offer evidence on the link between mimicry and lying. Prior studies in clinical and social psychology suggest that unobtrusive mimicking of others increases, for instance, trust or therapeutic rapport.…”