Testing the Sensorimotor Fluency Account of Mimicry

Mimicry is a pervasive and ubiquitous human behaviour with generally positive consequences, resulting in increased liking, closeness, and smoothness between interaction partners. Whereas previous research has stressed the affiliative aspect of these consequences, recent research suggests that these consequences may also arise because of the sensorimotor fluency with which mimicry is achieved. I tested three key hypotheses of this model in two experiments and found no support for a sensorimotor fluency account of mimicry. Implications of this research are discussed.M.A