Date of Award
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Graham, Steven
Keywords
Mimicry, Chameleon Effect, Interest
Area of Concentration
Psychology
Abstract
This study measured the role interest level plays in nonconscious mimicry. Forty participants performed a proofreading task in which the reading material was either of high interest, a compilation of original creative short stories and poetry, or of low interest, an excerpt from a statistics textbook. During participant completion of either task, a confederate discreetly initiated a sequence of scripted nonverbal behaviors. As predicted, those participants in the high interest condition mimicked the confederate�s behavior less often than did those completing the low interest task. Participant�s also noticed the confederate�s behavior in relation to how often he/she mimicked. This research suggests situational factors, such as involvement in certain conscious tasks, influence susceptibility to nonconscious nonverbal mimicry possibly in part because of the perception-behavior link.
Recommended Citation
Caizza, Amanda, "The Effect of Interest Level on Susceptibility to Unconscious Nonverbal Mimicry" (2010). Theses & ETDs. 4237.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4237