The impact of culture on behavioural mimicry

Mimicry, the subconscious copying of an interaction partner´s verbal expressions and nonverbal behaviour, is known to be influenced by various factors, such as attractiveness or personality traits. However, existing mimicry studies have not addressed two important issues. First, how mimicry manifests itself in dyadic social interactions, and second, the difference of mimicry in intra- and intercultural interactions. A total of 39 participants of different nationalities engaged in dyadic interactions. The analysis revealed that mimicry manifests itself overwhelmingly nonverbally, primarily in the form of positive facial expressions. The participants´ tendency to mimic an interaction partner was slightly higher in inter- than in intracultural interactions but did not reach a level of statistical significance. No correlation was found between a participant’s cultural background and his or her tendency to mimic an interaction partner. Female participants showed higher rates of mimicry than male participants. A statistically significant correlation was found between a participant´s sex and the average rate of mimicry per interaction. The difference in mimicry rates between male and female participants is likely due to a combination of social and biological factors. Mimicry, the subconscious copying of an interaction partner´s verbal expressions and nonverbal behaviour, is known to be influenced by various factors, such as attractiveness or personality traits. However, existing mimicry studies have not addressed two important issues. First, how mimicry manifests itself in dyadic social interactions, and second, the difference of mimicry in intra- and intercultural interactions. A total of 39 participants of different nationalities engaged in dyadic interactions. The analysis revealed that mimicry manifests itself overwhelmingly nonverbally, primarily in the form of positive facial expressions. The participants´ tendency to mimic an interaction partner was slightly higher in inter- than in intracultural interactions but did not reach a level of statistical significance. No correlation was found between a participant’s cultural background and his or her tendency to mimic an interaction partner. Female participants showed higher rates of mimicry than male participants. A statistically significant correlation was found between a participant´s sex and the average rate of mimicry per interaction. The difference in mimicry rates between male and female participants is likely due to a combination of social and biological factors.