ERIC Number: EJ1147887
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jun
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Goal-Directed Drinking Behaviors Can Be Modified through Behavioral Mimicry
Shune, Samantha E.; Foster, Kayla A.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v60 n6 p1535-1544 Jun 2017
Purpose: This study tested whether behavioral mimicry can alter drinking behavior. It was hypothesized that participants would increase drinking behaviors given increased confederate drinking but not cup touching. Methods: Nineteen healthy adults (M[subscript age] = 20.32 years) completed 2 picture description tasks; during 1 task, a confederate frequently sipped water ("complete" drinking gesture), and during the other, the confederate touched her cup but did not drink ("partial" gesture). Outcome measures included number of drinks per minute, number of cup touches per minute, percentage of time spent drinking, and percentage of time spent touching the cup. Results: Participants spent more time drinking and had an increased drinking rate during the drinking condition versus the cup-touching condition. For a majority of participants, drinking rate increased during the drinking condition versus baseline. Drinking, but not cup touching, rate also increased given increased confederate cup touching for many. Conclusions: Mimicry likely contributes to social modeling of drinking behaviors. This effect appears more robust given a complete target gesture (full drink); however, a partial goal-directed drinking gesture may also yield a mimicked response. Beyond the theoretical implications, these results provide directions for research investigating more naturalistic mechanisms for increasing dietary intake in various patient populations (e.g., individuals with dysphagia).
Descriptors: Imitation, Drinking, Hypothesis Testing, Adults, Pictorial Stimuli, Behavior, Comparative Analysis, Modeling (Psychology), Social Influences, Behavior Modification, Goal Orientation
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A