The Influence of Imitation (and why Trump could win)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures and declares “You’re fired!” at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, June 17, 2015. REUTERS/Dominick Reuter TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

I was watching a video of Donald Trump declare his views on illegal immigration when a friend asked me how such a controversial candidate could be doing so well in the polls. At first, the general consensus was that Trump was as full of hot air as the hair dryer he uses to fluff up his iconic comb-over. But after the media bombarded viewers with a continuous stream of Trump-isms, the tides began to turn. How is it possible that so many people could be so quickly influenced by one person? Like many sociological questions, the answer may lie in the cells of our brains.

I learned from a podcast the other day that some people physically feel the sensations of others. These people experience every action that can be felt, from receiving a hug to banging your knee on a wall, as long as it happens to someone within their field of vision. For some, the phenomenon extends to psychological sensations like happiness and pain, making such people incredible empathizers. It’s believed that this condition arises from overactive mirror neurons, a group of cells in the brain that fire both when an action is being executed, and, to a lesser extent, when someone else is executing an action.

While such a heightened awareness may seem more like a blessing than a curse, the condition can make normal life difficult. The woman being interviewed in the podcast had a history of being seriously overwhelmed in crowded spaces, and of even adopting the completely different personalities of others nearby. As a result, she chose to spend her life indoors in an attempt to, very literally, remain true to herself.

Psychologists have witnessed this tendency to mirror the behavior of others in many normal people, though to a lesser extent. In fact, this behavior can also be observed in apes, monkeys, birds and rats, suggesting this tendency has truly ancient origins. It appears to be more innate than practiced. Imitation can manifest itself in obvious ways, such as altered speech structure and mannerisms, but can also be more subtle. When two people are in each others company for a long enough period of time, their heartbeats, breathing rates and even eye-blink rates will usually synchronize. Again, this pattern is also observed in other animals. While humans may imitate humans in more complex ways than our animal kingdom relatives, the instinct to mimic is one deeply imbedded in our evolutionary branch.

It’s one thing to imitate someone else, however, and another to be influenced into making certain decisions without realizing it. Or is it?

For the woman with overexcitable mirror neurons, personality adoption transcends merely imitating someone else’s favorable qualities. She uses the sensations projected by people she observes as strict manuals for day-to-day behavior. The end result is that her own opinions start to change. The interviewee described herself as naturally reserved, and yet recalled seeking thrills like skydiving after a few weeks of being in a relationship with a new boyfriend. She also purchased clothing similar to that of her boyfriend, and began to adopt his mannerisms. These activities ceased shortly after the relationship ended. One could argue that she wanted these changes in the first place. Perhaps she wanted more spontaneity, and so looked for a boyfriend who could match her needs. This hypothesis is negated by the fact that her behavior altered only after she met the new boyfriend, and that a similar pattern was repeated several more times, with each new persona resembling the current boyfriend.

It is probably too much of a stretch to claim that most people adopt the full personas of the people they interact with. But how does this desire to mimic affect our daily decisions? Why is it that commercials that present a desirable lifestyle are so effective? Why can leaders like Trump out-poll more moderate candidates who should be more palatable to a larger population?

The evidence that people imitate those around them is very convincing, and it’s not a far leap to argue that a person will unconsciously act differently when placed in different social atmospheres. These actions could be as simple as mannerisms or as complicated as political stances. Psychologists have conducted experiments in which they monitored the behavior of different people when exposed to the same situations. One famous example is the Stanford Prison Experiment, in which a group of young men were placed in a simulated prison, half as prisoners, half as guards. Though they were demographically similar (white, male, from same neighborhood) those who were assigned to be guards mostly became hostile and even vicious, in contrast to the behavior of the prisoners who became submissive.

Other experiments have measured subtler mimicry, such as how a participant will react to the same situation if another person in the room is happy or sad. These findings support the notion that actions can be directly related to the behavior of others, even if we’re not aware of it. The stronger the influence, the more likely we are to change our decisions accordingly.

So let’s return to the original question: why is Trump doing so well in the polls? In some ways Trump is hardly unique. He shares many of his views with other Republican candidates, including support for increased border control and opposition to the Iran deal. Additionally, Trump is not the only non-politician candidate. What sets Trump apart is his forceful persona, and his intense delivery of his opinions to the public. If he retains both of these throughout his campaign, he could have a real shot at winning the Republican nomination, despite his controversy. From there, he may even make it to the White House. Just imagine how many hair dryers he could keep in there.

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Tags: imitation, president, psychology, Trump

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