Narcissists engage in mirroring as a manipulative tactic to lure in and manipulate others to serve their own needs. They mirror to: Form their own sense of identity. Gain your trust and create a sense of intimacy.
Intentional mirroring is the deliberate imitation of other people to make them feel comfortable. It is used to promote rapport and can be used in the interests of the mirrored and also against their interests. It is therefore a technique with the intention of manipulation.
Most personality mirroring is unconscious, based on perfectly natural human needs and desires. But as mimicry is a form of social manipulation, conscious personality mirroring may raise some moral questions.
Mirroring as a sign of trust
In these case's imitating someone is a sign of comfort and trust and it shows that people are in sync. The whole point of mirroring is that it's a way to better understand others and connect with them. Being able to mirror someone is the same as being able to listen to someone.
Related. For others, mirroring is a manipulative tactic for achieving selfish, devious or damaging purposes. People with Machiavellian traits may use it to improve their social status or align others with their purposes.
“If the other person's mirroring isn't leading you to a comfort zone, but instead leading you somewhere you don't want to be, that's a red flag. They're making you feel like you need to like them, instead of like you want to,” she continues.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Ramadi Durvasula suggests that narcissists are “masters of mirroring” and that this is what makes them so attractive. By paying close attention to you, they can emulate the perfect partner, colleague, or friend, and thereby “win you over” as a new source of narcissistic supply.
Imitating others' actions or gestures can be a natural human behavior, but when it happens frequently and involuntarily, it could be echopraxia. Mimicking or mirroring someone else's actions can be a natural part of the human socialization and learning process.
The mirror neuron system is a group of specialized neurons (nerve cells) that automatically trigger us to mimic the actions and behaviors of other people. So simply perceiving someone else's behavior increases the likelihood that we will unconsciously do the same behavior.
“One of the biggest and most challenging aspects of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is often 'The Chameleon Effect' – or 'mirroring'.
Mirroring can help establish rapport, as exhibiting similar actions, attitudes, and speech patterns as another person may lead them to believe that one is more similar to them and thus more likely to be a friend.
Deceitfulness and exceptional manipulative abilities are the most common traits among antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. It is the major feature found in the dark triad personality traits, particularly Machiavellianism.
A person with narcissistic personality or narcissistic traits frequently uses manipulation tactics to influence and control others. Common examples of this include gaslighting, triangulation, love bombing, and many others.
Research also suggests that although the mere presence of a mirror might seem like a mundane detail, it can bring about very negative consequences, such as lowering self-esteem (Heine et al., 2008; Ickes et al., 1973) and facilitating access to self-destructive thoughts (Chatard & Selimbegović, 2011; see alsoFejfar & ...
Narcissists do enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror. They may spend more time grooming themselves to bolster their grandiose self-images. In this way, narcissists may be more prone to self-objectify—and identify with and to base their self-worth on their external appearance, instead of their character.
This is known as 'mirroring'. When someone does this, it marks good communication and shows us that our interest is reciprocated. Mirroring also happens when talking to close friends as well as potential lovers, so be careful as you may misread signs of friendship as signs of love.
Congenital mirror movement disorder is a condition in which intentional movements of one side of the body are mirrored by involuntary movements of the other side. For example, when an affected individual makes a fist with the right hand, the left hand makes a similar movement.
Mirroring is reflecting an image back. Projecting is casting an image as if onto a blank screen.
Extraverted Feeling and Mirroring
The personality types most likely to practice mirroring on a regular basis are those that possess an Extraverted Feeling (Fe) function.
Echopraxia (which might also be called echokinesis or echomotism) is an involuntary imitation or repetition of someone else's actions. While echolalia is the involuntary repetition of language and sounds, echopraxia is the same but with actions. The word itself comes from Ancient Greek.
When you have body dysmorphic disorder, you intensely focus on your appearance and body image, repeatedly checking the mirror, grooming or seeking reassurance, sometimes for many hours each day.
Narcissistic mirroring is rooted in manipulation, building a facade of similarities with the narcissist's victim. The narcissist needs to build trust and a connection with their victims and does so by being everything that person wants.
Above and before anything else, the person who uses mirroring to manipulate their partners is trying to present an air of perfection. They want you to believe that you're safe with them. They want you to believe that you're their primary interest, or that they are compassionate and emotionally intelligent.
He'll Mirror Your Body Language
Mirroring is a way of imitating another person's body language. People mirror when they find the other person interesting, want to build rapport, or if they're attracted to them. Look for mirroring in the following ways: The arms.