Researchers from Radboud University Nijmegen, in the Netherlands, have found that women who dine with other women whom they have not previously met are likely to consume only as much food as their dining partner.
This phenomenon, known as mimicry, has previously been documented by researchers who are attempting to discover its causes and effects.
"The aim of our study was to gain insight into one of the possible underlying mechanisms of this modeling effect, namely behavioral mimicry," said researcher R.C.J. Hermans.
"We did not test whether people deliberately or unwittingly mimicked the other's intake. Based on previous research on behavioral mimicry, however, I am likely to say that this is an unconscious process. This assumption is underscored by previous findings of our lab, in which we found that people are generally unaware of the social influences that might affect their food intake," Hermans adds.
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