Overview
- Researchers from SWPS University and Humboldt University report in Emotion that people preferentially mimic joyful expressions and judge smilers as more attractive and trustworthy.
- Across three experiments, facial electromyography in two studies (n=62; n=46) and a behavioral trust/investment game in a third (n=64) linked mimicry to rapid trait judgments and cooperative behavior.
- Participants mimicked happiness more than sadness, with anger the least likely expression to be imitated.
- Greater facial mimicry of smiles predicted higher perceived credibility and larger point sharing in the trust game.
- Social similarity boosted mimicry in the first experiment but showed no effect in the third, underscoring context-dependent boundaries for the effect.