Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes? by Jena Pincott

Author:Jena Pincott
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780440338062
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2008-09-29T16:00:00+00:00

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Why does mimicry make you more likable?

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Think back to a date that went well—how natural the interaction was, how in tune you felt. Only if you were very self-aware would you have caught yourself mimicking your date’s accent, tone, pauses, even his catchphrases. You also might’ve been mirroring his body language—your elbows on your knees, with the same lip-biting little smile. And when he became optimistic and expansive, you probably felt very happy, too, and made the same long, sweeping gestures. If he felt the same way, it’s likely that he was also mirroring you.

Tanya Chartrand and John Bargh, psychologists at Duke and Yale, respectively, led a particularly effective mimicry study. While sitting in a room having a conversation with a subject, an appointed experimenter subtly but deliberately mimicked the subject’s posture. If the subject leaned forward, the experimenter also leaned forward, and if the subject leaned backward, so did the experimenter. This happened so naturally that the subject was oblivious that he or she was being mimicked in the course of the normal interaction. Later, when subjects were asked to rate the experiment, those who had been mimicked reported that they liked the experimenter and perceived the interaction as having been smooth, whereas participants who hadn’t been mimicked gave lower ratings. In a similar study, subjects who were eager to get along with the experimenter in an effort to accomplish a task together unconsciously mimicked the experimenter’s foot-shaking and face-touching gestures.

Psychologists observe that if you have a motive to bond with a person—for example, if you need to work together or you’re sexually interested—you are more likely to mimic his or her expressions and body language. Mimicry happens in group situations, too. A sort of smooth synchronicity develops, as it does in flocks of birds and schools of fish. From an evolutionary perspective, the ability to mimic was crucial in an environment where human survival depended on group cohesion. By unconsciously adopting the behaviors of others, our ancestors became more congenial and communicable.

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