User:Bspell4625

Mimicry As defined by Merriam Webster is the action or art of imitating someone or something, typically in order to entertain or ridicule. . In general all humans have an automatic tendency to imitate others. As the sayings go, "monkey see, monkey do". We often wonder why monkeys and people imitate others and exactly what is the primary function of mimicry? Research has shown that people automatically mimic others. This effect has been observed with an extensive variety of behaviors. One type of behavior that is especially susceptible to mimicry is speech. For instance, people mimic words (Bock, 1986, 1989), accents (Giles, & Prowesland, 1975), rate of speech (Webb, 1969, 1972), tone and voice (Neumann & Strack, 2000), and syntax (Levelt & Kelter, 1982). Capella and Panalp (1981) found that in dyadic conversations, people have a tendency to assimilate the way they speak, for example, in rhythm and pauses. Research has also shown that, besides speech, people often mimic laughter, facial expressions, behaviors, emotions and moods.