Open AccessYou Want to Know the Truth? Then Don’t Mimic!
Author(s) -
Paweł Muniak,
Dariusz Doliński,
Tomasz Grzyb,
Katarzyna Cantarero,
Wojciech Kulesza
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
zeitschrift für psychologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.037
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 2190-8370
pISSN - 2151-2604
DOI - 10.1027/2151-2604/a000451
Subject(s) - mimicry , psychology , psychological intervention , similarity (geometry) , social psychology , ideal (ethics) , epistemology , computer science , ecology , psychiatry , philosophy , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics) , biology
. 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.