DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. and Dutch scientists have determined mimicry influences consumption and consumers' opinions about products.
The researchers from Duke University, the University of Maryland and the University of Amsterdam studied how choices are influenced by the human tendency to mimic others' behavior.
In the first study, participants watched a video of a person who talked about advertisements while eating from one of two bowls of snacks -- either goldfish crackers or animal crackers.
The researchers found participants who watched a video of a person eating goldfish crackers ate goldfish crackers 71 percent of the time. Those who watched a person eat animal crackers only ate goldfish crackers 44 percent of the time.
"A person who views someone else's snacking behavior will come to exhibit a similar snack selection pattern," concluded Duke University Professor Robin Tanner, one of the authors of the study.
A second study found participants who watched a salesperson who had posture, body angle, foot movements and verbal patterns similar to theirs rated a new sports drink more positively and drank more of it than participants who were not mimicked.
The findings are reported in the Journal of Consumer Research.
