Interactional beings: the power of automatic mimicry and nonverbal cues in shaping human-human and human-robot naturalistic interactions

Abstract

Interaction is at the core of human social life. People rely on nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions, body movements, and physiological signals, to navigate their social environment, understand others' intentions, and coordinate behavior. One key mechanism through which these cues shape interaction is automatic mimicry, the unintentional copying of another person's actions or bodily states. Mimicry has traditionally been described as a prosocial "social glue" that promotes bonding, empathy, and cooperation. However, people also mimic negative or ambiguous behaviors, and mimicry does not consistently lead to positive social outcomes. Moreover, most research has focused on face-to-face interaction between humans, leaving open how mimicry operates in mediated settings, in interactions with artificial agents, and across cultures. The current dissertation addresses these gaps and offers a more integrative understanding of how nonverbal cues and their mimicry shape social behavior, using a series of naturalistic dyadic studies, mediated interaction paradigms, and cross-cultural experiments that systematically vary interaction context, the nature of the interaction partner, and cultural background. Together, these findings support a broader, more flexible theory of mimicry that incorporates prediction, negative outcomes, and cross-cultural variation, with practical implications for the culturally sensitive design of social agents.