TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2013//
TI  - Unintended imitation affects success in a competitive game
JO  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
A1  - Naber, Marnix
A1  - Vaziri Pashkam, Maryam
A1  - Nakayama, Ken
SP  - 20046
EP  - 20050
VL  - 110
IS  - 50
N2  - Imitation typically occurs in social contexts where people interact and have common goals. Here, we show that people are also highly susceptible to imitate each other in a competitive context. Pairs of players performed a competitive and fast-reaching task (a variant of the arcade whac-a-mole game) in which money could be earned if players hit brief-appearing visual targets on a large touchscreen before their opponents. In three separate experiments, we demonstrate that reaction times and movements were highly correlated within pairs of players. Players affected their success by imitating each other, and imitation depended on the visibility of the opponent's behavior. Imitation persisted, despite the competitive and demanding nature of the game, even if this resulted in lower scores and payoffs and even when there was no need to counteract the opponent's actions.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0027-8424
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1305996110
ID  - ref1
ER  -