The tongue-tied chameleon: The role of nonconscious mimicry in the behavioral confirmation process

•Interviewer tone was manipulated and applicant tone and performance were measured.•Mimicry of tone of voice information occurred during a dyadic interaction.•Performance suffered for applicants with a negative-toned interviewer.•The effect of interviewer tone on applicant performance was mediated by tone mimicry.•Behavioral confirmation may occur through the process of nonconscious mimicry.

The current study examines whether mimicry of negative behaviors occurs in ongoing social interactions, and whether mimicry may be a process through which one person's negative expectations lead to another person's expectancy-consistent behaviors. Using a simulated phone interview, applicant participants heard questions from an interviewer in either a neutral or negative tone of voice. Audio-recordings of applicant responses were transcribed to remove all tone information, and coders assessed applicant performance. Audio-recordings were subjected to a low-pass filter to remove recognizable words but retain vocal tone, and different coders assessed applicant tone of voice. Evidence of both behavioral mimicry and expectancy-consistent performance was found. Importantly, interviewer tone had a significant indirect effect on applicant performance through its influence on applicant tone. Nonconscious behavioral mimicry of negative behaviors occurs in social interactions, is not always associated with positive outcomes, and serves as a process through which behavioral confirmation can occur.