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157Mimicry and pair-bonding9IntroductionChoosing our partner is one of the most important decisions in our life.Happily married individuals live longer than unhappily married or singleindividuals (Lawrence, Rogers, Zajacova, & Wadsworth, 2019) and seem toenjoy other physical benefits, such as recovering faster from illnesses (Umberson, Williams, Powers, Liu, & Needham, 2006). People often believethat they choose their partner based on certain criteria, such as physical appearance or personality, yet their actual dating decisions do not reflect that(Eastwick & Finkel, 2008a). When on a date, we collect information frommany different sources about our potential partner. We might focus on theirfacial characteristics, voice, or body language. But ultimately, people tendto base their decisions on whether they feel a “spark” with their partner,a property known as chemistry (Reis, Regan, & Lyubomirsky, 2022; Roth,Samara, Tan, et al., 2021). This chemistry might be reflected or facilitatedby mimicry, the automatic imitation of another’s facial and postural expressions (Hess & Fischer, 2014). Here, we conducted a speed-dating studyto examine whether mimicry of subtle nonverbal cues or so-called “flirtingbehaviors” (M. M. Moore, 2010) predict attraction.Mimicry is defined as imitating the expressions and posture of peoplewe interact with (Hess, Philippot, & Blairy, 1999). A consistent findingin the literature is that mimicry is crucial in forming interpersonal bonds(Bernieri, Rosenthal, Feldman, & Rimé, 1991; Chartrand & Bargh, 1999;Lafrance & Broadbent, 1976; Lakin et al., 2003; Yabar & Hess, 2007). Thisis not only the case for humans (Hess & Fischer, 2013), but also for manynon-human animals (Griffith, 2019; Ota et al., 2015). Mimicking or imitating another’s expressions during an interaction occurs automatically (Hess& Fischer, 2014) and has been suggested to result in motivational alignment (Kurtz et al., 2019). Importantly, mimicry mostly occurs when thereis affiliative motivation (Stel & Vonk, 2010; Tiedens & Fragale, 2003), andmimicking another may be used to nonverbally indicate preferred physical proximity to another (Farley, 2014). Regarding the role of mimicry inpair bonding, a recent meta-analysis (Montoya et al., 2018) showed thatattraction is closely associated with mimicking others. Indeed, this is alsopredicted by the pair-bonding hypothesis (Rasmussen, 1981; Roth, Samara,Tan, et al., 2021)—high levels of mimicry between potential partners increase the likelihood of a romantic bond. Although previous studies haveexamined the role of mimicry in romantic interactions (e.g., Prochazkova etal., 2022), whether the mimicry of subtle nonverbal expressions or so-called“flirting behaviors” influences pair bonding remains relatively unexamined.People frequently try not to show their emotions during interactions(Kret, 2015). However, there are several cues associated with attractionthat are not under our voluntary control or are performed unconsciously(Grammer et al., 2000). For example, when we see someone we are atIliana Samara 17x24.indd 157 08-04-2024 16:36