<p>Recently, I watched a discussion program on TV and one of the participants shrugged. I found that, not only did I do the same, but I seemed to do it in synchrony the speaker. I didn't <em>want</em> to do this, why would I?</p>

<p>It's easy to find popular discussions online about contagious yawning but I haven't found any about shrugs.</p>

<p>It occurs to me that there may be other such involuntary imitative movements - raising eyebrows for example.</p>

<p><strong>Questions</strong></p>

<p>Is there a technical name for this type of involuntary imitation? I have tried searching online but either I haven't found the right search terms or there is nothing to find.</p>

<p>What explanation can we give? In what way might this be adaptive behaviour?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-18T21:26:08.510Z
I have the exact same problem; involuntary shrugging when a character in a TV program shrugs. It's the weirdest thing. and I don't do it in real-life situations. Only when watching TV... I don't think its "behavioural mimicry" because often the situations where the character shrugs would not be one where I would shrug, or even want to shrug, in real life. It's just like my shoulders have a mind of their own and insist on shrugging when somebody on the screen does...
user19812
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-05T13:09:43.090Z
I involuntarily shrugged while reading this question.
Vee Hua Zhi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-05T13:09:58.357Z
How do you explain that?
Vee Hua Zhi
<social-psychology><motor><evolutionary-psychology>
What explains involuntary imitation of behavior such as shrugging?
chasly - supports Monica
# What explains involuntary imitation of behavior such as shrugging?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-08-17)

Recently, I watched a discussion program on TV and one of the participants shrugged. I found that, not only did I do the same, but I seemed to do it in synchrony the speaker. I didn't *want* to do this, why would I?

It's easy to find popular discussions online about contagious yawning but I haven't found any about shrugs.

It occurs to me that there may be other such involuntary imitative movements - raising eyebrows for example.

**Questions**

Is there a technical name for this type of involuntary imitation? I have tried searching online but either I haven't found the right search terms or there is nothing to find.

What explanation can we give? In what way might this be adaptive behaviour?

**Tags:** social-psychology, motor, evolutionary-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I have the exact same problem; involuntary shrugging when a character in a TV program shrugs. It's the weirdest thing. and I don't do it in real-life situations. Only when watching TV... I don't think its "behavioural mimicry" because often the situations where the character shrugs would not be one where I would shrug, or even want to shrug, in real life. It's just like my shoulders have a mind of their own and insist on shrugging when somebody on the screen does...  
> **username_2**: I involuntarily shrugged while reading this question.  
> **username_2**: How do you explain that?  

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## 0 answers

