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Does the threat of COVID-19 modulate automatic imitation?
James W Roberts1, Simon J Bennett1
1Brain & Behaviour Research Group, Research Institute for Sport & Exercise Sciences (RISES), Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|April 24, 2023
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect automatic imitation, the involuntary tendency to copy others' actions. This suggests that even during a health crisis, fundamental social behaviors like imitation remain stable.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Automatic imitation, the unconscious mimicry of others' actions, is influenced by social factors.
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted social interactions and potentially altered social cues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the COVID-19 pandemic's disruption to social life impacts automatic imitation.
- To examine the influence of perceived COVID-19 infection risk on automatic imitation.
Main Methods:
- Participants were exposed to neutral, safe, or unsafe COVID-19 infection primes.
- Automatic imitation was assessed using a task measuring reaction times to compatible and incompatible finger movement cues.
- A between-subjects design was used with three priming conditions.
Main Results:
- Automatic imitation was confirmed, as evidenced by longer reaction times for incompatible versus compatible trials.
- No significant effect of COVID-19 infection primes (neutral, safe, or unsafe) on automatic imitation was observed.
- Perceived risk associated with COVID-19 did not modulate the automatic imitation response.
Conclusions:
- Automatic imitation appears robust and was not influenced by perceived COVID-19 risk during the pandemic.
- Findings suggest that fundamental social behaviors like imitation may be resilient to acute social disruption and health threats.
- Further research is needed to explore pathogen avoidance and social bonding in the context of pandemic-related behavioral changes.
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