Mimicry: Its Ubiquity, Importance, and Functionality

Abstract This chapter examines the importance of mimicry in social life. It begins with a review of the various types of mimicry that researchers have uncovered. Research documenting verbal, facial, emotional, and behavioral mimicry is discussed, along with evidence for its automatic and non concious nature. Next, it is argued that mimicry has major social implications both within the mimicry interaction and beyond it. Evidence is reviewed linking mimicry to rapport and empathy, affiliation motives, and prosocial behavior. Mimicry also appears to impact the individuals being mimicked in nonsocial ways. It influences the cognitive processing style engaged in, the amount of regulatory resources they have, and the attitudes and preferences that they hold. Finally, four different theoretical approaches to the question of why humans mimic are discussed. These include conceptualizing mimicry as a communication tool, as a passive response based on an automatic perception-behavior link, as an adaptive behavior serving an important evolutionary function, and as a translator of neural responses into an understanding of the social environment.