Neuroscience
When deep in conversation, I sometimes catch myself mimicking my companion; mirroring their body language, echoing their speech. Research suggests there are likely even more of these moments to which I’m oblivious. Luckily, mimicry is a useful habit: for instance, we prefer conversation partners whose speech rates mimic our own to those whose speech is jarringly different. As a result you might expect that the tendency to mimic might be particularly strong in people keen to be liked. But although past research has loosely supported this belief, a new study, the first to systematically look at mimicry across the five major personality domains, suggests a more complex picture.
The 24 participants believed they were contributing to research on the morality of fairy tales, and at the start of the study were asked to summarise a fairy tale to camera, which provided a benchmark of their normal talking rate. Each participant was then joined by another "participant", in truth an experimental confederate, and both of them were asked a series of four questions about the fairy tale, with the confederate always being the first to answer each question. The participants then repeated this process with a second confederate; the trick, of course, was that one confederate always spoke slowly and the other quickly. A team of coders then analysed the recorded speech to determine how fast the real participants spoke normally, and after exposure to each of the confederates.
Study author Elena Kurzius expected the slow- and fast-talking confederates to influence the participants’ speech rate – or some participants, at least. Once the study was over, she asked everyone to complete a classic measure of the Big Five personality traits, the NEO-PR, predicting that two of the five traits would turn out to be crucial: agreeableness (high scorers on this trait are very friendly) and extraversion (high scorers like to seek out social contact).
Extraversion turned out to influence mimicry. For instance, in the fast-talking condition, introverts lingered at about 130 words per minute (wpm), whereas extraverts sped up to 143 wpm, not far off the confederate’s speedy 155wpm. But agreeableness had no significant association with mimicry. Instead, an association was found with another trait, openness to experience. Openness isn’t really a social trait, but is characterised by thoughtfulness, unconventionality, and curiosity, making its association with mimicry as surprising as agreeableness’ irrelevance. So what’s going on?
Kurzius speculates that high status, which is present in Extraversion and absent in Agreeableness, may be an important, hitherto under discussed ingredient. Extraverted people enjoy the social domain and actively want to be liked, indeed popular. As such, they may (whether consciously or otherwise) devote more behaviours to making a good impression and having an influence on others. Agreeable people care about social interactions, but the focus is more on harmonious relations between all parties than coming out looking good. A low status person might even avoid mimicking others so as not to seem to appear presumptive.
This status explanation also gives some sense to the significance of openness to experience. Openness and extraversion are considered as the two components of "plasticity": exploring the world as if you are entitled to tinker with things, whether they be ideas, objects, or social dynamics, which obviously implies a high status, presumptive attitude. Openness’s experimentalism could easily extend to trying out someone else’s style; after all, mimicry is a core way of learning about the world.
I like the idea that two human chameleons may be motivated by quite different incentives: one a confident gambit for affiliation and popularity, the other a curious exploration of other ways of being. Ultimately, more research is needed: aren’t you curious why your deskmate tugs his ear whenever you do?
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Kurzius, E. (2015). The Extraverted Chameleon Journal of Individual Differences, 36 (2), 80-86 DOI: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000159
--further reading--
Mimicry improves women's speed-dating success
For mimicry to flatter, it's all about the body part, not the action
Money makes mimicry backfire
Mimicry the best form of flattery for computers too
Post written by Alex Fradera (@alexfradera) for the BPS Research Digest.
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- Mimicry The Best Form Of Flattery For Computers Too
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Neuroscience
The curious psychology of verbal mimicry
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| A surprising result: In the study, open-minded participants were especially likely to adopt their partner's speech-rate |
The 24 participants believed they were contributing to research on the morality of fairy tales, and at the start of the study were asked to summarise a fairy tale to camera, which provided a benchmark of their normal talking rate. Each participant was then joined by another "participant", in truth an experimental confederate, and both of them were asked a series of four questions about the fairy tale, with the confederate always being the first to answer each question. The participants then repeated this process with a second confederate; the trick, of course, was that one confederate always spoke slowly and the other quickly. A team of coders then analysed the recorded speech to determine how fast the real participants spoke normally, and after exposure to each of the confederates.
Study author Elena Kurzius expected the slow- and fast-talking confederates to influence the participants’ speech rate – or some participants, at least. Once the study was over, she asked everyone to complete a classic measure of the Big Five personality traits, the NEO-PR, predicting that two of the five traits would turn out to be crucial: agreeableness (high scorers on this trait are very friendly) and extraversion (high scorers like to seek out social contact).
Extraversion turned out to influence mimicry. For instance, in the fast-talking condition, introverts lingered at about 130 words per minute (wpm), whereas extraverts sped up to 143 wpm, not far off the confederate’s speedy 155wpm. But agreeableness had no significant association with mimicry. Instead, an association was found with another trait, openness to experience. Openness isn’t really a social trait, but is characterised by thoughtfulness, unconventionality, and curiosity, making its association with mimicry as surprising as agreeableness’ irrelevance. So what’s going on?
Kurzius speculates that high status, which is present in Extraversion and absent in Agreeableness, may be an important, hitherto under discussed ingredient. Extraverted people enjoy the social domain and actively want to be liked, indeed popular. As such, they may (whether consciously or otherwise) devote more behaviours to making a good impression and having an influence on others. Agreeable people care about social interactions, but the focus is more on harmonious relations between all parties than coming out looking good. A low status person might even avoid mimicking others so as not to seem to appear presumptive.
This status explanation also gives some sense to the significance of openness to experience. Openness and extraversion are considered as the two components of "plasticity": exploring the world as if you are entitled to tinker with things, whether they be ideas, objects, or social dynamics, which obviously implies a high status, presumptive attitude. Openness’s experimentalism could easily extend to trying out someone else’s style; after all, mimicry is a core way of learning about the world.
I like the idea that two human chameleons may be motivated by quite different incentives: one a confident gambit for affiliation and popularity, the other a curious exploration of other ways of being. Ultimately, more research is needed: aren’t you curious why your deskmate tugs his ear whenever you do?
_________________________________
Kurzius, E. (2015). The Extraverted Chameleon Journal of Individual Differences, 36 (2), 80-86 DOI: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000159
--further reading--
Mimicry improves women's speed-dating success
For mimicry to flatter, it's all about the body part, not the action
Money makes mimicry backfire
Mimicry the best form of flattery for computers too
Post written by Alex Fradera (@alexfradera) for the BPS Research Digest.
- Can You Fake Your Personality In A Photo?
Say you wanted your Facebook pic or Twitter avatar to convey to the world that you have a particular personality type, different from how you really are, would you be able to pose in a such a way to achieve this? A new Finnish study led by Sointu Leikas...
- For Mimicry To Flatter, It's All About The Body Part, Not The Action
We like people more when they mimic us. But only up to a point. If mimicry becomes too obvious, it can backfire, becoming mockery. A new study asks just how much imitation is enough to trigger benefits. Does the mimicker need to copy every action, or...
- Money Makes Mimicry Backfire
It's one of the first rules of persuasion: mimic subtly your conversation partner's movements and body language (with a slight delay), and they'll perceive you to be more attractive and trustworthy. Being mimicked, so long as it's not...
- Biting On Pen Impairs People's Emotion Recognition
Have you ever noticed how, when two people are talking, they seem to mimic each other's facial expressions? Some psychologists say this is simply a case of emotions being contagious. However, others go further, arguing this mimicry plays a functional...
- Mimicry The Best Form Of Flattery For Computers Too
After a social interaction, participants rate people who mimicked their movements or speech more favourably than they rate people who didn’t mimic them, even if they were unaware of the mimicry – a phenomenon that’s been dubbed the chameleon effect....