Chameleon effect: when we imitate the other without realizing it

If you are a regular at nature documentaries, surely you have noticed that animals do all kinds of bizarre things to better adapt to the environment. One of the most striking strategies used to survive in biologically diverse environments, for example, is imitate other species.

As representatives of this example we have from butterflies that pretend to have a face on their wings spread to harmless snakes that have evolved to resemble stinging vipers mortal. As cumbersome as it may seem to maintain this kind of disguise, what is clear is that it works for them: otherwise, natural evolution would not have carved their masks with that precision.

This ability to imitate other organisms is known as mimicry, and humans also make use of it, although we are not accustomed to realizing it. This phenomenon is known as the chameleon effect..

What is the chameleon effect?

It is known as the "chameleon effect" the tendency to unconsciously imitate the people with whom we are interacting.

The existence of this pattern of behavior is well documented, and it seems to be triggered by the simple perception of the other person. As soon as we come into contact with her, we have a good chance of beginning to mimic her tone of voice, posture, and other subtle aspects of non-verbal language.

The reason for the chameleon effect is believed to be get to establish something similar to a synchrony with the other person that allows you to please her more and facilitate communication. In addition, the most empathetic people tend to turn more into the task of imitating the interlocutor. On the other hand, it is very likely that in this curious phenomenon the mirror neurons.

The drawbacks of unconscious mimicry

However, the chameleon effect is a double-edged sword. Not only are the positive aspects of the other person imitated, those that predispose to having a communicative and open attitude: negative aspects are also imitated. In other words, our tendency towards establishing synchronicities with the interlocutor does not consist of use non-verbal language and a certain voice whole to please the other person, by contrary.

Due to the flexibility required to deal with many people in many different moods, the chameleon effect It involves replicating the parts of the other's behavior, be it friendly or not. This can be detrimental to us, as recent research has shown.

The chameleon effect experiment

In this experiment, a simulated telephone interview was conducted with a number of job candidates. The questions were recorded, and were formulated with a negative tone of voice (previously those recordings had been evaluated according to the scales "enthusiasm-boredom", "positive-negative" and "cold-warm"). Throughout job interviews, it was confirmed that the candidates tended to imitate the tone of voice of the recordings, although none realized it.

Furthermore, adopting a negative voice whole significantly impaired the impression they made on a jury conducting their evaluation as potential employees. This creates a vicious cycle or, in this case, a self-fulfilling prophecy: the interviewer who has low expectations of being satisfied with the candidate uses a negative voice all. The candidate, in turn, endorses that tone of voice and it makes the interviewer reaffirm his prejudices, when in reality he is only seeing a reflection of his own communicative disposition. And all this happens, of course, without either of us realizing how irrational this dynamic is.

Its application in marketing

It is clear that although the chameleon effect is reminiscent of the mimicry used by some small animal species, its function is not the same. In the first case the objective is to survive, while in the second… it is not clear. In fact, it could be that this tendency to unconsciously imitate was of no use; After all, not all the characteristics that have emerged from the biological evolution they are practical.

However, there is an area in which this mimicry is used as a resource: that of sales. Experienced salespeople learn to imitate the gestures, rhythms, and even postures of their interlocutors to better convince them by creating a "state of mutual harmony". Whether this measure is really effective or not, in any case, is highly debatable.

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Bibliographic references:

• Chartrand, T. L. and Bargh, J. TO. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception – behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76 (6), pp. 893 - 910.

• Smith-Genthôs, K. R., Reich, D. A., Lakin, J. L., and de Calvo, M. P. C. (2015). The tongue-tied chameleon: The role of nonconscious mimicry in the behavioral confirmation process. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 56, pp. 179 - 182.