APPROVED: Toulouse School of Graduate Studies MEDIATED CHAMELEONS: AN INTEGRATION OF NONCONSCIOUS BEHAVIORAL MIMICRY AND THE PARALLEL PROCESS MODEL OF NONVERBAL

This study attempted to unite two divergent bodies of nonconscious behavioral mimicry research. Researchers have argued that mimicry is a direct perception-behavior link while other researchers have argued that contextual variables mediate nonconscious mimicry. In an effort to bridge the gap between disparate arguments, this study proposed the parallel process model of nonverbal communication as a framework to explain nonconscious behavioral mimicry. The social environment and cognitive-affective mediators sections of the process model were tested in a 2 (young adult vs. older adult) x 2 (simple task vs. complex task) experimental design. Participants engaged in a matching task with a confederate. Statistical analysis revealed that participants engaged in mimicry behavior during the experiment interaction task. Statistical analysis revealed no main effect for the age of the confederate and mimicry behavior, however, analysis revealed a main effect for task-complexity and mimicry behavior. The findings suggest that the cognitive resources of participants is a significant predictor of nonconscious behavioral Nonconscious behavioral mimicry researchers agree that mimicry serves an affiliative function Mimicry initiates a variety of positive feelings during interaction including increased liking Secondly, the application of the parallel process model to mimicry may clarify the theoretical debate among mimicry researchers. Traditionally, researchers from two disparate bodies of mimicry research argued to identify the mechanism that causes mimicry. I argue that both mimicry perspectives, mimicry as mediated and mimicry as a direct perception-behavior link, may fit into the parallel process model begin with an overarching research question to guide the project. RQ: How do nonconscious mimicry behaviors function within the framework of the parallel process model? Chapter 2 highlights relevant research to nonconscious behavioral mimicry and the parallel process model of communication. Chapter 3 establishes the method for the current study. Chapter 4 reports the results of the study. Lastly, Chapter 5 discusses the implications of the findings, provide conclusions, and suggestions for future research