Mimicry has been researched regarding how it relates to the emotional contagion and therefore how it leads to feelings of empathy in others. Autonomic mimicry leads to synchronized physiological...Show moreMimicry has been researched regarding how it relates to the emotional contagion and therefore how it leads to feelings of empathy in others. Autonomic mimicry leads to synchronized physiological processes between two individuals, supposedly to create a feeling of connectedness and trust. Blush is a rarely investigated part of autonomic mimicry, a kind of physiological mimicry in humans that is not consciously controlled. Blushing has been associated with trustworthiness, a fundamental component to establish empathy. Previous research has shown that individuals who blush are perceived as more trustworthy and following the research on the emotional contagion, blush mimicry should have a similar effect. This study investigated whether individuals mimic a blushing Virtual Character (VC) and whether mimicking blushing establishes feelings of trust for a VC. Trustworthiness is investigated using a trust game, blushing is measured with skin temperature. T-tests were used to investigated whether individuals mimic blushing expressions of the VC, which resulted in inconclusive findings. Linear regression analyses were used to predict trustworthiness from participants’ blush. Blushing mimicry did not increase investment in the trust game. This result indicates that the mimicry itself might not be the basis of feelings of trust in others, despite previous findings. Perceiving and mimicking blushing might provoke different reactions from different individuals. Additionally, blush is triggered by emotions like embarrassment and guilt in social situations, which could be distorted by using VCs. Limitations include the lacking social context with the VC, the neutral content of the stories, and the sample size. Future research should investigate responses of individuals to VCs and control for external factors of facial redness.Show less
