The affiliative consequences of same-race and cross-race mimicry

ABSTRACT

Few studies have replicated and extended the classic mimicry → liking effect. The present research sought to (a) replicate the affiliative consequences of mimicry; (b) test whether the affiliative consequences hold in a context where mimicry may not be normative (i.e., cross-race interactions); and (c) investigate how excluded individuals respond to same- versus cross-race mimicry and non-mimicry. Participants wrote about a control topic or social exclusion and then engaged in a brief laboratory interaction in which they were mimicked or not mimicked by a confederate who was either same-race or cross-race. Then they reported how much they liked the confederate. Within the control condition, the effect of mimicry on affiliation depended on the race of the confederate – but this pattern did not emerge for excluded individuals. The study was unable to conclusively replicate and extend previous findings. The authors make recommendations to promote a more cumulative science of behavioral mimicry.