Group Dynamics in Automatic Imitation

Virtual Partners Improve Synchronization in Human-Machine Trios

The interplay between auditory and motor processes in sensorimotor synchronization is crucial for achieving a cohesive group performance, particularly in musical groups. This study addressed the impact of virtual partners on synchronization performance in human trios. With a novel methodology, the study utilized virtual partners driven by computational models to simulate real-time synchronization with human participants. Trio synchronization with three synchronization models was compared: linear error-correction, Kuramoto oscillators, and delay-coupled oscillators. Forty-eight musically trained adults performed synchronization tasks in both in-phase and anti-phase rhythms with either a human confederate or one of the three computational models as the third partner, forming 24 trios. Synchronization stability and accuracy were significantly enhanced in trios that contained a virtual partner compared to those with a human confederate. Model optimizations revealed a stronger coupling of participants with each other than with virtual partners for in-phase rhythms, and a stronger coupling of virtual partners with participants than of participants with each other in anti-phase rhythms; these patterns were obtained for the oscillator models but not for the linear model. Additionally, participants reported higher perceived synchronization success, greater control over performance, and stronger social relationships with virtual partners than with the human confederate. These findings highlight the potential of virtual partners for improving synchronization and suggest avenues for further research in the use of adaptive agents in group performance settings.

Validation of an online imitation-inhibition task

People automatically imitate a wide range of different behaviors. One of the most commonly used measurement methods to assess imitative behavior is the imitation-inhibition task (Brass et al., 2000). A disadvantage of its original form is, however, that it was validated for laboratory settings-a time-consuming and costly procedure. Here, we present an approach for conducting the imitation-inhibition task in online settings. We programmed the online version of the imitation-inhibition task in JavaScript and implemented the task in online survey software (i.e., Qualtrics). We validated the task in four experiments. Experiment 1 (N = 88) showed that the typical automatic imitation effects can be detected with good psychometric properties. Going one step further, Experiment 2 (N = 182) directly compared the online version of the imitation-inhibition task with its laboratory version and demonstrated that the online version produces similar strong and reliable effects. In Experiments 3 and 4, we assessed typical moderator effects that were previously reported in laboratory settings: Experiment 3 (N = 93) demonstrated that automatic imitation can be reliably detected in online settings even when controlling for spatial compatibility. Experiment 4 (N = 104) found, in line with previous research, that individuals imitate hand movements executed by a robot less strongly than movements executed by a human. Taken together, the results show that the online version of the imitation-inhibition task offers an easy-to-use method that enables the measurement of automatic imitation with common online survey software tools in a reliable and valid fashion.

Relationships between the race implicit association test and other measures of implicit and explicit social cognition

Background

The race-based Implicit Association Test (IAT) was proposed to measure individual differences in implicit racial bias subsumed within social cognition. In recent years, researchers have debated the theoretical tenets underpinning the IAT, questioning whether performance on this task: (1) measures implicit attitudes that operate automatically outside of conscious awareness; (2) reflects individual differences in social cognition; and (3) can predict social behavior. One way to better address these research questions is to assess whether the race-IAT correlates with other implicit processes that are subsumed within social cognition.

Aims

The current study assessed whether the race-IAT was related to other commonly used individual difference measures of implicit (and explicit) social cognition. Experiment 1 assessed whether dissociable patterns of performance on the race-IAT were related to measures of implicit imitative tendencies, emotion recognition and perspective taking toward White task actors, as well as explicit measures of trait and state affective empathy and racial bias. Overcoming limitations of task conceptual correspondence, Experiment 2 assessed whether these latter tasks were sensitive in detecting racial biases by using both White and Black task actors and again examined their relationships with the race-IAT.

Method

In two lab-based experiments, 226 and 237 participants completed the race-IAT followed by an extensive battery of social cognition measures.

Results

Across both experiments, pro-White/anti-Black bias on the race-IAT was positively related to a pro-White bias on explicit measures of positive affective empathy. However, relationships between the race-IAT and implicit imitative tendencies, perspective taking, emotion recognition, and explicit trait and negative state affective empathy were statistically equivalent.

Conclusion

The race-IAT was consistently related to explicit measures of positive state affective empathy but not to other individual difference measures of implicit social cognition. These findings are discussed with regards to the theoretical underpinnings of the race-IAT as an individual difference measure of implicit social cognition, as well as alternative explanations relating to the reliability of social cognition measures and the various combinations of general-purpose (social and non-social) executive processes that underpin performance on these tasks.

Group membership does not modulate goal- versus movement-based imitation

It is often put forward that in-group members are imitated more strongly than out-group members. However, the validity of this claim has been questioned as recent investigations were not able to find differences for the imitation of in- versus out-group members. A central characteristic of these failed replications is their mere focus on movement-based imitation, thereby neglecting to take into consideration the superior goal of the movements. By using a computerised version of the pen-and-cups task, we disentangled movement- from goal-based imitation to shed further light onto the link between group membership and imitation. As previous research demonstrated that out-group members (as compared with in-group members) are represented psychologically distant and as psychological distance shifts the degree to which participants engage in goal- versus movement-based imitation, we predicted that in-group members (as compared with out-group members) shift the degree to which individuals imitate movements versus goals. The results did not confirm our predictions, as group membership does not modulate the degree of movement- versus goal-based imitation. Theoretical implications and the question whether imitative behaviour is socially modulated are discussed.

Visible skin disease symptoms of another person reduce automatic imitation of their hand movements

Imitation is an important mechanism for social interaction and learning, and humans tend to imitate others automatically. While imitating others is often useful, it can backfire when imitation is incongruent with one's goals. For example, in forced-choice reaction time tasks, this tendency results in a reliable slowing of reactions if the observed and self-initiated actions are incompatible (compatibility effect). While imitation is commonly explained as a social phenomenon, previous results on the compatibility effect's dependence on social cues are inconsistent. However, in many previous studies, the associated social cues were easy to ignore by the participants. To make the social modifier more salient, the current study manipulated emotionally relevant aspects of the model hand itself in an imitation inhibition task by using models displaying skin disease symptoms which we expected to elicit (1) perceptions of dissimilarity and (2) disgust in participants. As predicted, participants' (n = 63) reaction times were influenced more by the incompatible actions of the symptom-free than the symptomatic model hand. However, both levels of self-reported disgust toward and self-other overlap with symptomatic hands were low and did not account for the observed effect on automatic imitation. Our findings show that automatic imitation depends on social factors if these are an integral part of the model and processed quickly, presumably due to their affective salience or the salience of the self-other distinction. Whether this effect is driven by emotional reactions to the model remains an open question.

Effect of Social Context on Cognitive and Motor Behavior: A Systematic Review

Human cognitive and motor behavior is influenced by the social contexts. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the impact of the social contexts on human behaviors. A systematic search of the literature was performed via Pub-Med/Medline, Web of sciences, Google scholar, Science direct, Springer-Link and EMBASE and 68 articles were selected. After applying all the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 articles were retained. The results show that the presence of other people and the social context influence motor behavior (i.e. movement duration, trajectory behavior, maximum speed) and cognitive behavior (reaction time). Studies have shown an improvement in performance in the presence of other people compared to the individual situation. However, other studies showed that the presence of other people led to deterioration in performance compared to the individual situation. The improvement of behavior is attributed to the social phenomenon of facilitation while the deterioration was explained by the conduct theory or the distraction conflict theory. These social phenomena of facilitation or inhibition could be related to the perception-action theory, which interferes with interaction with other. This, in turn, seems to be associated with neural circuits of mirror neurons and motor system.

Collective Rhythm as an Emergent Property During Human Social Coordination

The literature on social interactions has shown that participants coordinate not only at the behavioral but also at the physiological and neural levels, and that this coordination gives a temporal structure to the individual and social dynamics. However, it has not been fully explored whether such temporal patterns emerge during interpersonal coordination beyond dyads, whether this phenomenon arises from complex cognitive mechanisms or from relatively simple rules of behavior, or which are the sociocultural processes that underlie this phenomenon. We review the evidence for the existence of group-level rhythmic patterns that result from social interactions and argue that the complexity of group dynamics can lead to temporal regularities that cannot be predicted from the individual periodicities: an emergent collective rhythm. Moreover, we use this interpretation of the literature to discuss how taking into account the sociocultural niche in which individuals develop can help explain the seemingly divergent results that have been reported on the social influences and consequences of interpersonal coordination. We make recommendations on further research to test these arguments and their relationship to the feeling of belonging and assimilation experienced during group dynamics.

Smaller Than Expected

Abstract. In two pre-registered studies, we investigated whether processes of imitative action regulation are facilitated after experiencing an episode of social exclusion. We reasoned that imitative action regulation effects should be more pronounced for participants who were socially excluded, providing them with an “automatic means” to socially reconnect with others. Participants played a virtual ball-tossing game to experimentally induce social exclusion or inclusion experiences. Subsequently, pairs of two participants engaged in an observational stimulus–response (SR) binding paradigm modeled after Giesen et al. (2014): Participants observed color categorization responses in their interaction partner (trial_n-1) and then executed (in)compatible responses in the subsequent trial (trial_n), with observation and responding occurring in alternation. Stimulus relation (repetition vs. change) from trial_n-1 to trial_n was orthogonally manipulated. In both studies, stimulus-based retrieval effects of observationally acquired SR bindings were descriptively larger in socially excluded (compared with socially included) participants. However, none of the effects were statistically significant. Even a joint analysis of both experiments did not show the expected modulation. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on social exclusion effects on imitative action regulation processes.

A direct test of the similarity assumption - Focusing on differences as compared with similarities decreases automatic imitation

Individuals automatically imitate a wide range of different behaviors. Previous research suggests that imitation as a social process depends on the similarity between interaction partners. However, some of the experiments supporting this notion could not be replicated and all of the supporting experiments manipulated not only similarity between actor and observer, but also other features. Thus, the existing evidence leaves open whether similarity as such moderates automatic imitation. To directly test the similarity account, in four experiments, we manipulated participants' focus on similarities or differences while holding the stimulus material constant. In Experiment 1, we presented participants with a hand and let them either focus on similarities, differences, or neutral aspects between their own hand and the other person's hand. The results indicate that focusing on similarities increased perceived similarity between the own and the other person's hand. In Experiments 2 to 4, we tested the hypothesis that focusing on similarities, as compared with differences, increases automatic imitation. Experiment 2 tested the basic effect and found support for our prediction. Experiment 3 and 4 replicated this finding with higher-powered samples. Exploratory investigations further suggest that it is a focus on differences that decreases automatic imitation, and not a focus on similarities that increases automatic imitation. Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed.

Group membership does not modulate automatic imitation

Individuals have the automatic tendency to imitate each other. A key prediction of different theories explaining automatic imitation is that individuals imitate in-group members more strongly than out-group members. However, the empirical basis for this prediction is rather inconclusive. Only a few experiments have investigated the influence of group membership using classic automatic imitation paradigms and these experiments led to mixed results. To put the group membership prediction to a critical test, we carried out six high-powered experiments (total N = 1538) in which we assessed imitation with the imitation-inhibition task and manipulated group membership in different ways. Evidence across all experiments indicates that group membership does not modulate automatic imitation. Moreover, we do not find support for the idea that feelings of affiliation or perceived similarity moderate the effect of group membership on automatic imitation. These results have important implications for theories explaining automatic imitation and contribute to the current discussion of whether automatic imitation can be socially modulated.

Intentional synchronisation affects automatic imitation and source memory

Acting in synchrony is a fundamental part of many social interactions and can have pro-social consequences. Explanations for this relationship were investigated here using implicit measures of imitation (automatic imitation task) and memory (preference overlap task). In Study 1, participants performed an intentional synchronisation task where they moved sliders in or out of time with another person while a third person observed. Those who had moved in synchrony showed a stronger tendency to imitate their partner’s actions than those who had moved in a non-synchronous way. Similarly, coordinated partners were also more likely to share object preferences. Results also showed that rather than memory blurring between co-actors, participants had improved memories for the self. Study 2 exchanged intentional for incidental coordination (coordinating with a synchronous metronome). None of the findings from Study 1 replicated when synchronisation was incidental rather than intentional, suggesting that having a shared goal may be critical for triggering effects of synchronisation on imitation tendencies and memory. Together these findings favour explanations related to changes in social categorisation over representational overlap between co-actors.

Imitation in one's own presence: No specific effect of self-focus on imitation

Previous studies have reported that imitative responses may be modulated by top-down social factors such as self-focus. However, growing evidence suggests that such social factors may actually modulate domain-general processes such as spatially compatible responding, rather than specifically social processes such as imitation. In this study, we aimed to identify the cognitive processes being modulated under conditions of heightened or diminished self-focus. Participants performed a stimulus-response compatibility task which independently measures both spatial and imitative response tendencies, under two conditions: heightened self-focus, where the task was performed in the presence of two mirrors; and diminished self-focus, where the mirrors were covered. While participants were faster to respond to compatible trials than to incompatible trials, both imitatively and spatially, there was no significant modulation of either spatial or imitative compatibility by self-focus; although the magnitude of the modulation of spatial compatibility was numerically similar to the effect of self-focus on imitation found in previous studies. These results provide no evidence for an effect of self-focus on either social-specific, or domain-general, processes.

Dynamic emotional expressions do not modulate responses to gestures

The tendency to imitate the actions of others appears to be a fundamental aspect of human social interaction. Emotional expressions are a particularly salient form of social stimuli (Vuilleumier & Schwartz, 2001) but their relationship to imitative behaviour is currently unclear. In this paper we report the results of five studies which investigated the effect of a target's dynamic emotional stimuli on participants' tendency to respond compatibly to the target's actions. Experiment one examined the effect of dynamic emotional expressions on the automatic imitation of opening and closing hand movements. Experiment two used the same basic paradigm but added gaze direction as an additional factor. Experiment three investigated the effect of dynamic emotional expressions on compatibility responses to handshakes. Experiment four investigated whether dynamic emotional expressions modulated response to valenced social gestures. Finally, experiment five compared the effects of dynamic and static emotional expressions on participants' automatic imitation of finger lifting. Across all five studies we reliably elicited a compatibility effect however, none of the studies found a significant modulating effect of emotional expression. This null effect was also supported by a random effects meta-analysis and a series of Bayesian t-tests. Nevertheless, these results must be caveated by the fact that our studies had limited power to detect effect sizes below d = 0.4. We conclude by situating our findings within the literature, suggesting that the effect of emotional expressions on automatic imitation is, at best, minimal.

The effect of eye gaze direction on emotional mimicry: A multimodal study with electromyography and electroencephalography

Emotional mimicry plays an important role in social interaction and is influenced by social context, especially eye gaze direction. However, the neural mechanism underlying the effect of eye gaze direction on emotional mimicry is unclear. Here, we explored how eye gaze direction influenced emotional mimicry with a combination of electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG) techniques, which may provide a more comprehensive measure. To do this, we recorded facial EMG and scalp EEG signals simultaneously while participants observed emotional faces (happy vs. angry) with direct or averted gaze. Then, we split the EEG trials into two mimicry intensity categories (high mimicry intensity, HMI vs. low mimicry intensity, LMI) according to EMG activity. The ERP difference between HMI and LMI EEG trials revealed four ERP components (P50, P150, N200 and P300), and the effect of eye gaze direction on emotional mimicry was prominent on P300 at P7 and P8. Moreover, we also observed differences in the effect of eye gaze direction on mimicry of happy faces and angry faces, which were found on P300 at P7, as well as P150 at P7 and N200 at P7 and Pz. In short, the present study isolated the neural signals of emotional mimicry with a new multimodal method, and provided empirical neural evidence that eye gaze direction affected emotional mimicry.

Self-categorization as a basis of behavioural mimicry: Experiments in The Hive

INTRODUCTION

Do we always do what others do, and, if not, when and under what conditions do we do so? In this paper we test the hypothesis that mimicry is moderated by the mere knowledge of whether the source is a member of the same social category as ourselves.

METHODS

We investigated group influence on mimicry using three tasks on a software platform which interfaces with mobile computing devices to allow the controlled study of collective behaviour in an everyday environment.

RESULTS

Overall, participants (N = 965) were influenced by the movements of confederates (represented as dots on a screen) who belonged to their own category in both purposive and incidental tasks.

CONCLUSION

Our results are compatible with collective level explanations of social influence premised on shared social identification. This includes both a heuristic of unintended mimicry (the acts of group members are diagnostic of how one should act), and communication of affiliation (based on a desire to make one's group cohesive). The results are incompatible with traditional 'contagion' accounts which suggest mimicry is automatic and inevitable. The results have practical implications for designing behavioural interventions which can harness the power of copying behaviour, for example in emergency evacuations.

Challenges and opportunities for top-down modulation research in cognitive psychology

Studying social modulation of cognitive processes holds much promise for illuminating how, where, when and why social factors influence how we perceive and act in the world, as well as providing insight into the underlying cognitive mechanisms. This is no small objective; it reflects an ambitious programme of research. At present, based on the modal theoretical and methodological approach, we suggest that several challenges exist to achieving such lofty aims. These challenges span an overreliance on a simplistic dichotomy between "top-down" and "bottom-up" modulation, a lack of specificity about mechanisms that renders clear interpretations difficult, and theories that largely test against null hypotheses. We suggest that these challenges present several opportunities for new research and we encourage the field to abandon simplistic dichotomies and connect much more with existing research programmes such as semantics, memory and attention, which have all built diverse research platforms over many decades and that can help shape how social modulation is conceptualised and studied from a cognitive and brain perspective. We also outline ways that stronger theoretical positions can be taken, which avoid comparing to null hypotheses, and endorse methodological reform through fully embracing proposals from the open science movement and "credibility revolution". We feel that by taking these opportunities, the field will have a better chance of reaching its potential to build a cumulative science of social modulation that can inform understanding of basic cognitive and brain systems, as well as real-life social interactions and the varied abilities observed across the Autism Spectrum.

Being mimicked affects inhibitory mechanisms of imitation

This study investigated the effects of being mimicked on automatic imitation indices and social cohesion. 180 female participants were either interactively mimicked or anti-mimicked. In the mimicry condition, a confederate topographically aligned, during anti-mimicry, misaligned, their behavior to the participants. Being mimicked may evoke a sense of overlap between self and other generated movements. This so-created self-other overlap may generalize to other forms of imitation and social cohesion. Here, we investigated the effects of being mimicked on automatic imitation indices, using the Imitation-Inhibition Task. These indices are the baseline corrected facilitation and inhibition index, and the interference index which depicts the relation between facilitation and inhibition. In case of a generalized self-other overlap, we expect an increase in the facilitation, inhibition, and interference index, after the Mimicry as compared to the Anti-Mimicry condition. We furthermore predicted that the modulation of the indices would predict higher social cohesion ratings. Yet, our results showed a lower inhibition index after being mimicked, respectively an increase after Anti-Mimicry, with no effects on social cohesion ratings. This suggests that potential self-other overlap after being mimicked does not generalize to automatic imitation indices. Instead, being mimicked may have increased self-regulatory processes, and task performance.

Developmental trajectory of interpersonal motor alignment: Positive social effects and link to social cognition

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Interpersonal motor alignment (IMA) has positive effects on healthy social life.

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IMA - mimicry, synchrony, automatic imitation - is studied throughout development.

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It relies on motor resonance brain mechanisms identified throughout development.

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It is modulated by contextual and personal factors.

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IMA is underinvestigated in adolescence, yet it may aid to enhance resilience.

Interpersonal motor alignment is a ubiquitous behavior in daily social life. It is a building block for higher social cognition, including empathy and mentalizing and promotes positive social effects. It can be observed as mimicry, synchrony and automatic imitation, to name a few. These phenomena rely on motor resonance processes, i.e., a direct link between the perception of an action and its execution. While a considerable literature debates its underlying mechanisms and measurement methods, the question of how motor alignment comes about and changes in ontogeny all the way until adulthood, is rarely discussed specifically. In this review we will focus on the link between interpersonal motor alignment, positive social effects and social cognition in infants, children, and adolescents, demonstrating that this link is present early on in development. Yet, in reviewing the existing literature pertaining to social psychology and developmental social cognitive neuroscience, we identify a knowledge gap regarding the healthy developmental changes in interpersonal motor alignment especially in adolescence.

Anticipation in sociomotor actions: Similar effects for in- and outgroup interactions

In social interactions, own actions often trigger a particular response from another person. The sociomotor framework proposes that this consistent behavior of others can become incorporated into own action control. In line with this idea, recent studies have shown that own motor actions are facilitated if they are predictably being imitated rather than counterimitated by a social interaction partner. In the present study, we investigated whether this finding is influenced by the relationship between the interacting persons. To that end, we manipulated whether a participant was being imitated and counterimitated by an ingroup or by an outgroup member. In two experiments, we found a beneficial influence of being imitated irrespective of group membership. The results suggest that, while people incorporated their partner's behavior into own action control, this was not further qualified by group membership as a higher-order social variable. This finding points to a universal account of action control for actions with social action effects and actions with inanimate action effects alike.