I Am Too Just Like You: Nonconscious Mimicry as an Automatic Behavioral Response to Social Exclusion
Abstract
Research across various disciplines has demonstrated that social exclusion has devastating psychological, emotional, and behavioral consequences. Excluded individuals are therefore motivated to affiliate with others, even though they may not have the resources, cognitive or otherwise, to do so. The current research explored whether nonconscious mimicry of other individuals-a low-cost, low-risk, automatic behavior-might help excluded individuals address threatened belongingness needs. Experiment 1 demonstrated that excluded people mimic a subsequent interaction partner more than included people do. Experiment 2 showed that individuals excluded by an in-group selectively (and nonconsciously) mimic a confederate who is an in-group member more than a confederate who is an out-group member. The relationship between exclusion and mimicry suggests that there are automatic behaviors people can use to recover from the experience of being excluded. In addition, this research demonstrates that nonconscious mimicry is selective and sensitive to context.
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Two recent studies have directly investigated the effect of social attitudes on mimicry.
“Two recent studies (Lakin & Chartrand, 2003, see also Lakin, Chartrand and Arkin, 2008;Van Baaren et al, 2003) have directly investigated the effect of social attitudes on mimicry.”
From Social attitudes modulate automatic imitation (2010) · cites this paper as Lakin, Chartrand and Arkin, 2008
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- Authors
- Lakin, J. L., Chartrand, T. L., & Arkin, R. M.
- Affiliations
- Drew University (US)
- Duke University (US)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Lakin, Jessica L.
- ORCID
- Chartrand, Tanya L.
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2008-08
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 816-822
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2026652752
- Cited by
- 485
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 27
- FWCI
- 28.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Keywords
- social exclusion, automatism, sense of belonging, affiliation, in-group favoritism, automaticity
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Awareness, Female, Humans, Imitative Behavior, Internal-External Control, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Rejection, Psychology, Self Concept, Social Adjustment, Social Identification, Social Isolation, Social Perception, Video Games
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