The Impact of Mimicry Behavior on Guilt

Guilt, on the one hand, can be unpleasant and exhausting. On the other hand, it can also motivate individuals to, for example, make amends and repair broken social relationships. To understand this dual nature of guilt, this research turns to the concept of mimicry. Mimicry is defined as the unconscious imitation of behaviors and is widely recognized as a 'social glue' that plays a crucial role in forming and maintaining social relationships. A key question is whether mimicry could serve as an appliance for the sake of guilt release. A series of six studies (N = 414) reveals the opposite pattern: participants who were mimicked (compared to non-mimicked) felt more guilty. This outcome suggests that while mimicry generally fosters social connections, its interplay with emotions like guilt can be complex. Publication co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education core founding for statutory University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty of Psychology, 221516/E-560/M/2018 granted to Paweł Muniak. reviewed acceptedVersion

愧疚感一方面会令人不适且身心俱疲，另一方面也能驱使个体作出补偿、修复受损的社会关系。为探究愧疚感的这种双重属性，本研究引入了模仿（mimicry）这一概念。模仿被定义为对行为的无意识模仿，且被广泛认为是一种“社会黏合剂”，在构建与维系社会关系中发挥关键作用。核心问题在于，模仿是否可作为释放愧疚感的手段。共计六项研究（被试量N=414）得出了相反的结果：相较于未被模仿的被试，被模仿的被试会感受到更强烈的愧疚感。该结果表明，尽管模仿通常能够促进社会联结，但其与愧疚感这类情绪的交互作用却可能十分复杂。本研究成果由波兰科学与高等教育部为波兰社会科学与人文大学心理学学院提供的法定核心经费联合资助，项目编号221516/E-560/M/2018，受资助人为Paweł Muniak。本文为经评审通过的录用版本。