Influence of Mimicry of Motion Rhythms on Psychological Stress Relief Effects

Abstract

In communication situations, unconscious mimicry of behavior can make a good impression on the opposite partner and facilitate communication. This phenomenon is known as the chameleon effect, and it is also confirmed to be effective when intentional mimicking of behavior. As it has been confirmed that there is a correlation between the stress relief effects and impressions, intentionally mimicry of behavior is considered effective in enhancing the effects of therapy robots, which provide comfort and healing through interaction. However, therapy robots are typically not humanoid and have few moving parts, making it hard to mimic simply. In this paper, I focused on the entrainment, a phenomenon in which nonverbal information is similar, same as the chameleon effect, and in which similarity in temporal transition is important. Then, the influence of the mimicry of the temporal transition of the moving parts characterizing behavior (motion rhythm) on the psychological stress relief effects was investigated. As a result, it was confirmed that the psychological relief effects of imitating the motion rhythm were significantly higher than that of fixing or randomizing the motion rhythm (especially the relief effect of tension, depression, and fatigue). In addition, interviews with the experimental participants suggested that mimicking the motion rhythm was effective as a method for generating fluctuating and consistent behavior.