Automatic Imitation : The Mechanisms of Mimicry / Oliver Genschow.

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Introduction to Automatic Imitation -- Types of Imitation -- Processes Underlying Automatic Imitation -- Modulators of Automatic Imitation -- Consequences of Automatic Imitation -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 2: Measuring Movement Imitation -- Introduction -- Measuring Movement Imitation Without Moving -- Electromyographic Measures of Muscle Activity During Action Observation -- TMS-Evoked Measures of Motor Responses During Action Observation -- Kinematic Measures of Movement Imitation -- Stimulus-Response Compatibility Measures of Movement Imitation -- Stimulus-Response Compatibility Measures of Automatic Imitation -- Stimulus-Response Compatibility Measures of Imitation-Inhibition -- Measuring Mimicry -- Mimicking Actions -- Mimicking Action Timing (Synchrony) -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 3: Emotional Mimicry -- Theories of Mimicry -- What Is Emotional Mimicry? -- Related Phenomena That Are Not Emotional Mimicry -- Emotional Contagion -- Synchrony -- Automatic Imitation -- Reactive Emotions -- Different Accounts of Mimicry -- Mimicry as Embodiment -- Mimicry as a Matched Motor Response -- Mimicry as a Social Regulator -- The Functions of Emotional Mimicry -- Facilitating Emotion Understanding -- Mimicry Promotes Human Affiliation -- Mimicry Enhances Social Standing -- Mimicry Supports Implicit (Social) Learning -- Top-Down Influences -- Future Perspectives -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 4: Common Coding of Speech Imitation -- Background -- The Theory of Event Coding -- TEC: General Assumptions -- TEC: Specific Assumptions -- Event Features Are Multimodal -- Intentional/Attentional Processing Modulates Event Coding -- Feature Codes Are Grounded in Sensorimotor Experience -- Conclusion -- Summary and Outlook -- References -- Chapter 5: Automatic Imitation and the Correspondence Problem of Imitation: A Brief Historical Overview of Theoretical Positions -- Automatic Imitation and the Correspondence Problem of Imitation: A Brief History -- A Historical Perspective -- Imitation as a Conditioned Reflex -- Imitation Explained by Operant Conditioning -- Modern Associative Learning Approaches -- The Revival of Imitation as an Innate Mechanism -- An Ideomotor Approach to Imitation -- Automatic Imitation and Ideomotor Compatibility -- Empirically Investigating Ideomotor Compatibility -- Automatic Imitation -- Automatic Imitation and Spatial Compatibility -- Automatic Imitation and Properties of the Observed Agent -- Non-Matching Associations Between Observed and Executed Behaviours -- Automatic Imitation and Self-Other Distinction -- Summary and Conclusions -- References -- Chapter 6: The Promise and Pitfalls of Studying the Neurophysiological Correlates of Automatic Imitation -- The Promise: Automatic imitation as a Window into Understanding Mechanisms of Social Cognition -- The Pitfalls: A Lack of Validity Undercuts Some of the Specific Claims Being Made Regarding the Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Automatic Imitation -- Construct Validity -- Internal Validity -- External Validity -- Statistical-conclusion validity -- Summary and Implications -- Limitations and Constraints on Generality -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 7: Levels of Imitation: Movements, Outcomes, and Goals -- Different Levels of Imitation -- Imitation of Movements -- Imitation of Outcomes/Goals -- Methods to Assess Movement and Outcome Imitation -- Movement Imitation (Without Considering Outcome/Goal Imitation) -- Goal-Directed Movement Imitation -- Contrasting Movement Imitation with Outcome/Goal Imitation -- Assessing Movement and Outcome/Goal Imitation Independently of Each Other -- Dissociating Outcomes and Goals -- Variables Moderating the Relative Degree of Movement and Outcome Imitation -- Imitation in Infancy: Knowledge About Movement–Outcome Relations -- Situational Factors: Salience of the Outcome/Goal and Situational Constraints -- Social Group Membership -- Psychological Distance -- Summary and Future Directions -- References -- Chapter 8: Anticipated Imitation -- Ideomotor Action Control: The Role of Sensory Anticipations -- Focusing on the Imitation Model -- Predictable Imitation -- Imitating Anticipated Actions -- Anticipating Imitation Versus Actually Imitating -- Imitative Versus Non-social Action Effects -- Imitative Versus Complementary Social Effects -- Open Questions -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 9: Automatic Imitation in Infants and Children -- Introduction -- Motor Mimicry -- Neonatal Imitation and beyond -- Caregiver-Infant Interactions -- Chameleon Effect in Children -- Contagious Yawning -- Automatic Imitation in Children -- Mirror Effects in Infants and Children -- Surface Electromyography (sEMG) -- Mu Suppression -- Competing Theories of the Origins of Automatic Imitation Effects -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 10: Automatic Imitation of Multiple Agents -- Does Automatic Imitation Depend on Group Size? -- Automatic Imitation of Multiple Different Actions -- Simultaneous or Random Representation? -- Interactions Between Being in and Imitating a Group -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 11: Social Modulation of Imitative Behavior -- Theories of Social Modulation -- Motivational Theories -- Self-Other Overlap Theories -- Which Social Factors Modulate Imitative Behavior? -- Experimental Manipulations -- Interindividual Differences -- Explanations for the Mixed Evidence -- Methodological Explanations -- Theoretical Explanations -- Avenues for Future Directions -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 12: Automatic Imitation of Hand Movements in Clinical and Neurodiverse Populations -- Introduction -- Alzheimer’s Disease -- Parkinson’s Disease -- Depression -- Schizophrenia -- Mirror Touch Synesthesia -- Eating Disorders -- Autism -- Developmental Co-ordination Disorder/Dyspraxia -- Gille de Tourette’s Syndrome -- Discussion -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 13: The Benefits—and Costs—of Behavioral Mimicry: Applications in Marketing, Sales, and Therapy -- Benefits Stemming from Mimicry: Liking of and Closeness to Other People and Groups -- Prosocial Behavior -- Changes in Self-perception -- Business Contexts: Retail and Negotiations -- Increase in Creativity -- Costs Stemming from Mimicry and Lack of Mimicry -- Emotional Costs -- Perceptual Costs -- Cognitive Costs -- Behavioral Costs -- Conclusions and Critical Remarks -- References -- Chapter 14: Cognitive Mechanisms of Being Imitated -- Introduction -- Varieties of Ways to Study Being Mimicked -- Studying Motor Mimicry in Live Interactions -- Studying BeMim Using Virtual Reality -- Studying Motor BeMim with Controlled Movement Paradigms -- Mimicry of Abstract Preferences -- Controlled Studies of Abstract Preference Mimicry -- Studying BeMim for Preferences “In the Wild” -- Potential Neurocognitive Mechanisms of BeMim Effects -- Model 1: A Specialized Mechanism for Motor Mimicry and BeMim -- Model 2: BeMim as a Form of Social Learning -- Model 3: Universal Predictability -- Distinguishing Between Models—Awareness and Timing -- Awareness of Being Mimicked -- Timing of Being Mimicked -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 15: Mimicry in Psychological Disorders and Psychotherapy -- Existing Evidence for Mimicry in Psychotherapy -- Imitation as Intervention in Clinical Populations -- Spontaneous Mimicry in Psychotherapy -- Theoretical Approaches to Mimicry -- Mimicry and Psychological Disorders -- Depression -- Alexithymia -- Autism -- Schizophrenia -- Social Anxiety -- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder -- Borderline Personality Disorder -- Psychopathic Traits -- Disorder-Specific Mimicry Patterns -- Combining Theory and Disorder-Specific Results: Theoretical Implications for Mimicry in Psychotherapy -- Conclusion and Future Directions -- Theoretical Approaches -- Methodological Approaches -- Future Directions -- References -- Chapter 16: Watching Others Mirror: Explaining the Range of Third-Party Inferences from Imitation -- A Review of Third-Party Inferences from Imitation -- Developmental Methods -- Early Positive Inferences -- Role of Imitation vs. Similarity in Inference -- Negative Inferences -- Adult Reasoning About Imitation -- Summary -- Adopted Utility and Reasoning About Imitation -- Reasoning About Others Using a Naive Utility Calculus -- Adopted Utility and Imitation -- Adopted Utility Inferences from Imitation in First-Party vs. Third-Party Settings -- Automatic vs.

Conscious Processing of Observed Imitation -- Conclusion -- References -- Index.

People spontaneously imitate a wide range of different behaviors. The interest in this phenomenon dates back to at least the 18th century when Adam Smith (1759) argued that imitation can be seen as a primitive form of sympathy. Despite the longstanding interest, it was not until the 20th century that different research fields within psychology and neuroscience started empirically investigating this social phenomenon. This book brings together leading researchers from various domains to provide readers with a recent overview of developments in automatic imitation research. This is an open access book.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2025. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.