Imitating others has long been seen as a useful way to explore the world — monkey see, monkey do — but imitation could also make monkeys popular, a study has found.
Experts examining the habits of capuchins have discovered monkeys build closer bonds with human playmates who mimic their behavior than with those who do not.
In the study some monkeys were exposed to researchers who imitated their behavior with a small ball; others were paired with researchers whose actions did not.
“After the imitation sequence, the monkeys consistently spent more time near the investigator who imitated them than with the investigator who did not,” the researchers said.
And the same may be true for humans, according to the group’s findings, published in the Aug. 14 edition of the journal Science.
“Human beings prefer the behavior of other people who subtly imitate their behavior and other affects,” said Duane Alexander, a senior expert at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), where part of the study was carried out.
While humans often assume the body postures, mannerisms or gestures of people they meet although neither party tends to be aware of the imitation, it nonetheless promotes social links, the researchers found.
It is hoped the findings “may lead to insights into disorders in which imitation and bonding is impaired such as certain forms of autism,” explained Alexander.
The study was carried out by researchers at the NIH, the Italian National Research Council and the University of Parma.(AFP)
模仿他人一直是探索這個世界的好方法──就像猴子有樣學樣。但一項研究發現，會模仿的猴子的確更受歡迎。
研究卷尾猴習性的專家，找來一些人和牠們接觸，結果發現猴子和模仿牠們動作的人類互動比較親密。
在這項研究中，一群研究人員拿著小球模仿同組猴子的舉動，而另一群對照組則不模仿牠們。
研究學者表示：「經過一連串模仿行為後，猴子始終花更多時間和模仿牠們的研究人員相處。」
這項研究刊登於八月十四日出版的《科學》雜誌，研究結果顯示，這點結論可能也適用在人類身上。
研究合作單位之一的美國國家衛生研究院（NIH）資深研究員杜安．亞力山卓說：「人類比較喜歡別人巧妙地模仿自己的行為及其他情感表現。」
研究學者發現，人類常常在不自覺的情況下，模仿對方的肢體姿勢、言談舉止或手勢，而這種模仿有助於增加社會連結。
亞力山卓解釋，他們希望這項研究「能助於洞察有仿效行為或人際關係障礙的疾病，例如某些類型的自閉症。」
這項研究由美國國家衛生研究院、義大利國家研究院和帕馬大學三個單位合力完成。
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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