THE (UN)AWARE CHAMELEON. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NONVERBAL MIMICRY, GETTING IN BY MIMICRY, AND (UN)AWARENESS OF THE PROCESS Cover Image

(Nie)świadomy kameleon. Analiza związku między stosowaniem niewerbalnej mimikry, uległością wobec tego procesu a (nie)świadomością
THE (UN)AWARE CHAMELEON. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NONVERBAL MIMICRY, GETTING IN BY MIMICRY, AND (UN)AWARENESS OF THE PROCESS

Author(s): Wojciech Kulesza
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Psychology
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar Sp. z o.o.
Keywords: imitation; mimicry; the chameleon effect; awareness, unawareness

Summary/Abstract: In a field of mimicry, unawareness of this mechanism is like a dogma. It is assumed that mimickee isneither aware while being mimicked nor of the positive effects that the imitation has on liking of themimicker. Surprisingly to the date no research addressed the question whether awareness of mimicry would eliminate the impact of ‘the chameleon effect’. In this paper two studies have addressed this issue. In both experiments a nonverbal behavior presented by participants was (or was not) imitated and its awareness was manipulated. Both studies showed that making people aware of the chameleon effect did not reduce the impact of this mechanism. Limitations of the studies are discussed, ideas for some future studies as well as an in-depth discussion on unawareness of the chameleon have been presented.

  • Issue Year: XI/2016
  • Issue No: 37
  • Page Range: 183-195
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish