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Effects of mimicry on behavior: Stereotype consistent behavior elicited through mimicking a person belonging to a specific social category

Schröder, André (2017) Effects of mimicry on behavior: Stereotype consistent behavior elicited through mimicking a person belonging to a specific social category.

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Abstract:The purpose of the present study was to investigate if mimicking another person may influence behavior and if empathy is involved as an underlying mechanism. A study was conducted and 71 participants took part in the study. Mimicry was measured through a video recording of the reactions participants showed while watching a video showing a male person displaying movements that were non-stereotypical. The participants were told that the man in the video is a professor and it was assumed that when the stereotype of professors is activated, this activates related constructs like “intelligence” and “performing well”, which in turn activates related behavioral representations to perform well on a general knowledge test. Furthermore, it was assumed that participants who score high on empathy are more likely to score high on mimicry, and hence perform better on a general knowledge test. To test this hypothesis, participants were asked to fill in a general knowledge questionnaire. Empathy was measured by the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ). The investigation reveals that participants who score high on mimicry perform significantly better on a general knowledge test than participants who score low on mimicry. Unexpectedly, no significant effect was found between mimicry and empathy.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/71676
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