The Impact of Mimicry on Tobacco Addiction

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dc.abstract.enTobacco addiction, a major cause of preventable death, requires an understanding of how it develops and is maintained. This paper examines mimicry as a ‘social glue’ in smokers' social interactions and its influence on the development and maintenance of smoking behaviour. A first laboratory experiment showed that nonverbal mimicry (physical actions, hand and arm movements and body posture) increases cigarette consumption due to increased liking for the mimicker, proving that mimicry not only binds (smokers) but first and foremost reduces chances for quitting smoking. The second experiment, conducted in a natural setting, showed that mimicry of smoking behaviour reduced the desire to quit smoking. This suggests that whilst mimicry acts as a strong ‘social glue’ amongst smokers, it also impedes efforts to quit. Thus, it seems that mimicry maintains smoking addiction and overcoming tobacco addiction might require severing the social bonds created by mimicry (e.g., smoking in solitary).
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychology
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii we Wrocławiu
dc.contributor.authorKulesza, Wojciech
dc.contributor.authorMuniak, Paweł
dc.contributor.authorDoliński, Dariusz
dc.contributor.authorMarciszewska, Oliwia
dc.contributor.authorSiemianowska, Joanna
dc.date.access2026-07-21
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-21T07:49:45Z
dc.date.available2026-07-21T07:49:45Z
dc.date.created2026-07-02
dc.date.issued2026-08
dc.description.abstract<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:p>Tobacco addiction, a major cause of preventable death, requires an understanding of how it develops and is maintained. This paper examines mimicry as a ‘social glue’ in smokers' social interactions and its influence on the development and maintenance of smoking behaviour. A first laboratory experiment showed that nonverbal mimicry (physical actions, hand and arm movements and body posture) increases cigarette consumption due to increased liking for the mimicker, proving that mimicry not only binds (smokers) but first and foremost reduces chances for quitting smoking. The second experiment, conducted in a natural setting, showed that mimicry of smoking behaviour reduced the desire to quit smoking. This suggests that whilst mimicry acts as a strong ‘social glue’ amongst smokers, it also impedes efforts to quit. Thus, it seems that mimicry maintains smoking addiction and overcoming tobacco addiction might require severing the social bonds created by mimicry (e.g., smoking in solitary).</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.issue4
dc.description.physical1-9
dc.description.sdgGoodHealthAndWellBeing
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume61
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/ijop.70248
dc.identifier.eissn1464-066X
dc.identifier.issn0020-7594
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2465
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijop.70248
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsClosedAccess
dc.rights.explanationzamknięty dostęp
dc.rights.questionNo_rights
dc.share.articleOTHER
dc.subject.enaddiction
dc.subject.enmimicry
dc.subject.enmodelling
dc.subject.ensmoking
dc.subject.ensocial glue
dc.subject.entobacco
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleThe Impact of Mimicry on Tobacco Addiction
dc.title.journalInternational Journal of Psychology
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle