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Posted by Lira on Sep-23-2010 22:25:

Oi, psychology students: a question about posture mirroring!

I was talking to a friend of mine who happens to have a Master's in psychology about mirroring and how it can be an indicator of good rapport. Pick up artists often claim that if you and a girl start mirroring each other's postures, for example, it shows a great level of affinity and they say it is a sign she fancies you; and I recall hearing sellers making similar statements - though, of course, they just want to look trustworthy rather than bonkworthy, but that's beside the point.

My friend had never heard of it before, and said it could be because this is not his field of expertise within psychology, and asked me for some references. Well, much to my surprise, this has been a hard task. I found some articles in the peer-reviewed literature that do seem to defend this thesis (such as "The Nature of Rapport and Its Nonverbal Correlates", The Chameleon Effect as a Social Glue and The Courtship Dance: Patterns of Synchronisation in Opposite-Sex Encounters") and loads of dodgy NLP material that is as credible as geocentricism. And that made me wary about the whole thing - the "linguistic" bit in "neurolinguistic programming" is pure bollocketry, as far as I can tell, and it makes me wonder if those studies are as reliable as I think they are.

Is this a problem studied in any mainstream research programme in psychology? Or is it one of those things greatly exaggerated by laymen and that make experts cringe? I'm yet to read those articles but, as an outsider, I thought I'd first ask psychology students and Boomers for some guidance on this issue.


Posted by Silky Johnson on Sep-23-2010 22:31:

Hahaha, I was talking about this with someone not too long, actually. I think it's best understood in terms of courting behaviour (er wait, I see you already said that...)

But yeah. I had the suspicion that my buddy's room-mate had a crush on me - because of the way he always mirrored me when we were in the same room together, and the way he always positioned himself in relation to me.


Anyway, I see that you're looking for credible studies about this behaviour. I have to go do some shit for a couple hours, but I think I might be able to dig some stuff up for you. I'm sure I've seen something somewhere in my psych studies.


Posted by Lira on Sep-23-2010 22:41:

quote:
Originally posted by jennypie
But yeah. I had the suspicion that my buddy's room-mate had a crush on me - because of the way he always mirrored me when we were in the same room together, and the way he always positioned himself in relation to me.

Hah, I was talking to him about the very same thing! Though in my case I'm pretty sure it is the case, and it isn't really something I want to happen because of the obvious.

Though it didn't happen with your buddy's room-mate, of course
quote:
Originally posted by jennypie
Anyway, I see that you're looking for credible studies about this behaviour. I have to go do some shit for a couple hours, but I think I might be able to dig some stuff up for you. I'm sure I've seen something somewhere in my psych studies.

Thanks!


Posted by Jake Benson on Sep-23-2010 22:53:

I subconsciously mirror the way people talk when I'm around them. Sometimes I become aware of it and concentrate on how they sound and not what they're actually saying. It's weird, but in the end I can sound like I'm from almost any country.

/B.S. in pysch here


Posted by Flec on Sep-23-2010 23:38:

social psychology is the least "scientific" of all the diffrnt branches

/2cents


Posted by Fledz on Sep-24-2010 00:26:

It's a commonly used sales trick. I do it all the time and it works.


Posted by EddieZilker on Sep-24-2010 00:36:

quote:
Originally posted by Fledz
It's a commonly used sales trick. I do it all the time and it works.


Yup. I've used it, too, with some effect but I think it's been discredited as a reliable indicator - meaning that if someone is mirroring you, it doesn't mean they're necessarily amenable to your suggestions. I really wish I knew where I read that, though.


Posted by igottaknow on Sep-24-2010 00:59:

monkey see monkey do


Posted by Lira on Sep-24-2010 01:59:

quote:
Originally posted by Fledz
It's a commonly used sales trick. I do it all the time and it works.

If I had a 7 foot tall Slav abrasively mirror my every move, I don't think I could ever muster up the courage to say no either


Posted by Jake Benson on Sep-24-2010 02:03:

quote:
Originally posted by Flec
social psychology is the least "scientific" of all the diffrnt branches

/2cents


No, it's just the most difficult to discern because it involves more complex interactions than say simply testing out neural wiring for sight or finding new neurotransmitters.


Posted by Lira on Sep-24-2010 02:07:

quote:
Originally posted by Jake Benson
No, it's just the most difficult to discern because it involves more complex interactions than say simply testing out neural wiring for sight or finding new neurotransmitters.

Indeed, I've been reading Social Cognition by Susan Fiske and it look rigorous enough to me, science wise.


Posted by RandomGirl on Sep-24-2010 02:26:

Journal of Applied Psychology
Issue: Volume 94(1), January 2009, p 216�223
Copyright: � 2009 by the American Psychological Association
Publication Type: [Research Reports]
DOI: 10.1037/a0012829


Behavioral mirroring is a specific type of nonverbal interpersonal dynamic where people unknowingly adjust the timing and content of the physical movements in a manner that mirrors the behaviors exhibited by their interaction partner (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999; La France, 1982). For example, when a colleague leans forward and places her hands on a table in a manner that unintentionally reflects the posture and hand movements of her interaction partner, she is engaging in behavioral mirroring. As a nonconscious interpersonal dynamic, behavioral mirroring is distinct from more conscious and deliberate forms of mimicry, for example, when a salesperson strategically mirrors a potential customer to influence a sale.


Individuals often use behavioral mirroring to infer rapport and empathy in their social interactions (Lakin, Jefferis, Cheng, & Chartrand, 2003; Tickle-Degnen & Rosenthal, 1987). A high level of behavioral mirroring generally is experienced as a reassuring signal that the encounter is proceeding well; a low level is experienced negatively, interpreted as a lack of rapport or rejection. Thus, people feel more comfortable and perceive their interactions more positively when they are subtly mirrored by an interaction partner than when they are not (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999).


For behavioral mirroring effects to occur, however, a person must notice and process the nonverbal signals that an interaction partner exhibits (Sanchez-Burks, 2002). Thus, to be influenced by the degree of behavioral mirroring in a face-to-face interaction requires a certain level of sensitivity to interpersonal cues. Yet, there is growing evidence that people's sensitivity to such cues often varies across cultural groups and social contexts (for a review, see Earley, 1997). This observation raises the question of how cultural group membership might moderate the effect of behavioral mirroring on an individual's experience of and performance in an intercultural workplace interaction. In this article, we explore how this interactive relationship between culture and mirroring might operate among two cultural groups known to differ in their sensitivity to interpersonal cues in work settings: U.S. Latinos and U.S. Anglos.

__________________________

It isn't a dismissed theory by any means, but it also isn't a theory of any particular focus, or at least not in the psychology courses I have taken thus far.

When I search my Psychology database, a lot of results pop up, so it appears to be a heavily discussed/researched theory.


Posted by Silky Johnson on Sep-24-2010 02:38:

Ah good, now I don't have to do any work.


Posted by EgosXII on Sep-24-2010 03:03:

quote:
Originally posted by Lira
If I had a 7 foot tall Slav abrasively mirror my every move, I don't think I could ever muster up the courage to say no either



Hahahaha, so true


Posted by igottaknow on Sep-24-2010 03:07:

I thought facebook invented mirroring


Posted by Sushipunk on Sep-24-2010 03:15:

quote:
Originally posted by Lira
If I had a 7 foot tall Slav abrasively mirror my every move, I don't think I could ever muster up the courage to say no either



Posted by Lira on Sep-24-2010 04:22:

quote:
Originally posted by igottaknow
I thought facebook invented mirroring


Jesus Spocking Christ!


Posted by EddieZilker on Sep-24-2010 04:27:

quote:
Originally posted by Lira
Jesus Spocking Christ!


I'd Spock her.


Posted by Lira on Sep-24-2010 05:16:

I'd klingon her
quote:
Originally posted by Theresa
Journal of Applied Psychology
Issue: Volume 94(1), January 2009, p 216�223
Copyright: � 2009 by the American Psychological Association
Publication Type: [Research Reports]
DOI: 10.1037/a0012829


Behavioral mirroring is a specific type of nonverbal interpersonal dynamic where people unknowingly adjust the timing and content of the physical movements in a manner that mirrors the behaviors exhibited by their interaction partner (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999; La France, 1982). For example, when a colleague leans forward and places her hands on a table in a manner that unintentionally reflects the posture and hand movements of her interaction partner, she is engaging in behavioral mirroring. As a nonconscious interpersonal dynamic, behavioral mirroring is distinct from more conscious and deliberate forms of mimicry, for example, when a salesperson strategically mirrors a potential customer to influence a sale.


Individuals often use behavioral mirroring to infer rapport and empathy in their social interactions (Lakin, Jefferis, Cheng, & Chartrand, 2003; Tickle-Degnen & Rosenthal, 1987). A high level of behavioral mirroring generally is experienced as a reassuring signal that the encounter is proceeding well; a low level is experienced negatively, interpreted as a lack of rapport or rejection. Thus, people feel more comfortable and perceive their interactions more positively when they are subtly mirrored by an interaction partner than when they are not (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999).


For behavioral mirroring effects to occur, however, a person must notice and process the nonverbal signals that an interaction partner exhibits (Sanchez-Burks, 2002). Thus, to be influenced by the degree of behavioral mirroring in a face-to-face interaction requires a certain level of sensitivity to interpersonal cues. Yet, there is growing evidence that people's sensitivity to such cues often varies across cultural groups and social contexts (for a review, see Earley, 1997). This observation raises the question of how cultural group membership might moderate the effect of behavioral mirroring on an individual's experience of and performance in an intercultural workplace interaction. In this article, we explore how this interactive relationship between culture and mirroring might operate among two cultural groups known to differ in their sensitivity to interpersonal cues in work settings: U.S. Latinos and U.S. Anglos.

__________________________

It isn't a dismissed theory by any means, but it also isn't a theory of any particular focus, or at least not in the psychology courses I have taken thus far.

When I search my Psychology database, a lot of results pop up, so it appears to be a heavily discussed/researched theory.

Oh, thanks! Sorry I missed your post earlier, I'm easily distracted by... well, never mind

So I guess this is indeed something well documented after all. But, the funny thing is: how do you know you're being mirrored rather than mirroring if it is an unconscious process? A-ha!


Posted by Fledz on Sep-24-2010 05:49:

quote:
Originally posted by Lira
If I had a 7 foot tall Slav abrasively mirror my every move, I don't think I could ever muster up the courage to say no either

I'm only abrasive on the internet. In person I'm quite lovely


Posted by Sushipunk on Sep-24-2010 06:19:

quote:
Originally posted by Fledz
I'm only abrasive on the internet. In person I'm quite lovely


Call me


Posted by Fledz on Sep-24-2010 06:34:

quote:
Originally posted by Sushipunk
Call me

Ok. I can't wait to give you the kissing disease.


Posted by DigitalPhoenix on Sep-24-2010 15:46:

Mono? Talk to TBills. Call him!


Posted by Silky Johnson on Sep-24-2010 17:36:

quote:
Originally posted by Lira
But, the funny thing is: how do you know you're being mirrored rather than mirroring if it is an unconscious process? A-ha!




I honestly think it's not difficult to catch onto, depending on how aware you are of what's going on around you, how perceptive you are to non-verbal communication, etc.


Posted by IL Duce on Sep-24-2010 17:37:

posture scissoring is cooler.


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