What is the Chameleon Effect?
The chameleon effect is a phenomenon in which we imitate the mannerisms, gestures, or facial expressions of the people with whom we most often interact. It causes you to subconsciously change your behavior to match that of people in your close social circle or even strangers.
This phenomenon gets its name from the chameleon, an animal that changes the appearance of its skin to fit in with whatever environment it is in.
Chameleons are small, scaly reptiles with large, colorful eyes and expanding tongues. They are known for one peculiarity in particular: changing the color of their skin. Despite this peculiarity, the common belief that these animals camouflage themselves to camouflage themselves is not entirely true. Similarly, the chameleon effect in humans reflects not that people change color, but how they change it.
What is Mimicking?
Mimicking is a complex process in which a person observes and reproduces the behavior (actions) of another person.
Mimicking provides a process for acquiring species-specific behaviors and also allows for the transmission of species experiences from one generation to the next.
When a person imitates another person in a mirror image, they are doing the opposite of what the person they are imitating is doing. For example, if the imitator makes a certain gesture with his right hand while talking, the imitator will make the same gesture with his left hand.
You can also imitate another person anatomically. In this case, you make the same movements as the person you are imitating. So, if the person often taps their left foot while thinking about something, you will also tap your left foot.
If the Chameleon Effect is Natural, Why Doesn't Blatant Copying Work?
You can use the chameleon effect to your advantage. A study in which a researcher imitated the gestures and mannerisms of a group of participants showed that the participants whom the researcher imitated thought he was more likeable than those whom he did not imitate.
What Chatrand and Barg understood about the chameleon effect.
Psychologists Tanya Chartrand and John Barg were working at New York University when they discovered the phenomenon of imitation. Scientists called this phenomenon the chameleon effect. Its essence is as follows.
We often subconsciously imitate the gestures, manners, facial expressions and other elements of behavior of partners or interlocutors. And this causes their sympathy.
To demonstrate the chameleon effect in action, Chartrand and Bargh invited unsuspecting students into their lab and asked them to participate in a kind of one-on-one interview. Each member of the pair took turns describing color photographs from Time, Newsweek and Life magazines to their partner. The researchers explained to the students that by observing them, they were developing benchmarks for a test that, like the psychodiagnostic test of the famous psychiatrist Rorschach, was designed to work with people with mental disabilities. As the students were told, first those who gave their descriptions of the pictures were selected, and then the same descriptions were to be given to people suffering from depression, mania, etc.
The experimenters clearly saw in the behavior of the subjects a manifestation of the chameleon effect. When the "plants" rubbed their faces with their hands or twitched their legs, the students repeated their actions. The same thing happened with facial expressions. Students smiled an average of once a minute when their interlocutors smiled. And when the young scientists were not smiling, the students smiled only once every three minutes.
What Sid Chartrand and Barg Understand About the Chameleon Effect?
If a person with a low level of empathy tries to mimic someone, the results will be mostly negative. Their superficial interest in the other person will be obvious. A deeper connection requires deeper empathy and understanding. It may not even be a good idea to imitate imitation or the chameleon effect. A better strategy would be to work on developing true empathy for the other person, such as the ability to see and feel things from their perspective, not just your own.
How to Improve the Chameleon Effect?
Develop a relationship
One way is to take the time to develop a relationship with someone. When you emulate someone you've spent time with and shared experiences with, it's often very rewarding.
Adjust to different situations
For example, nurses have to support all of their patients every day and make sure they get along with their colleagues. You can try doing this yourself to note what works and what doesn't.
Be real
If you just imitate people instead of being genuine, you won't get good results. Also, you don't want to forget who you are, so make sure you
So the chameleon effect is your helper, contributing to a more pleasant interaction with others, even in the case of fleeting acquaintances. And perhaps this is where mimicry is especially important: After all, strangers should be able to sense your character based only on superficial body language signals. The next time you find yourself unwittingly copying someone's mannerisms or mimicking an accent, don't be embarrassed. Just remind yourself that you are probably an empathic person.