The Extraverted Chameleon

Although mimicking behavior has been shown to relate to trait affiliation, there are no investigations of its relations to broader concepts of personality. In this study, personality was assessed in terms of the Big Five and mimicry was operationalized as adaptation in speech rates. In a within-subjects design, participants interacted with two confederates who differed in speech rate (slow, fast) and the participants’ speech rates in each condition were measured as words uttered per minute of speaking. Data were analyzed employing a multilevel modeling approach. Extraversion and openness significantly predicted participants’ adaptation in speech rate, whereas agreeableness did not. The role of affiliation and status, being building-blocks of extraversion and openness, as a sine qua non for the emergence of mimicry is discussed.