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Wags
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27 Dec 2013, 4:44 pm

Anyone else do this? I tend to learn the reactions of another person, learn there facial expressions, learn there personality in a whole, and incorporate it in myself when I'm around him/her.



zer0netgain
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27 Dec 2013, 4:57 pm

I've always been a bit of a mimic. I gauge how to behave by copying the behavior of those around me.

Doesn't work very well because I also duplicate behaviors reserved for intimates and not total strangers.



Willard
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27 Dec 2013, 5:08 pm

A gift for mimicry seems to be a fairly common talent among people with HFA, probably because we have to learn very early in life to mimic neurotypical behaviors to fit in, even if we don't fully understand the reasons behind them.

I began imitating the voices of actors and cartoon characters I heard on television as a kid and ended up making a career out of it on the radio. :D



Sethno
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27 Dec 2013, 6:20 pm

Wags wrote:
Anyone else do this? I tend to learn the reactions of another person, learn there facial expressions, learn there personality in a whole, and incorporate it in myself when I'm around him/her.


What do you do if-

You've learned to mimic person A when around them. You've also learned to mimic person B when with them.

You then find yourself in a small group made up of you, person A, and person B, all three of you at the same time.

How do you act then?


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Agathon
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27 Dec 2013, 6:34 pm

I am happy you opened this topic because that is just what I've been thinking (among other things) these days. Yes, it happens to me all the time, and sometimes to extremes. There are certain phrases (not just words but gestures and pitch) that I know exactly whom I got it from. And when I pull that phrase up, there is an image of the person I took it from in my mind. Don't know why that happens but certain things other did or said just seemed cool enough to catalog.
Then, there are situation when I start mirroring other.
Backlashes exist - communication often does not seem real as I don't feel I am representing my true self. It is tiring because it's often acting. Furthermore, if you talk with someone for few days they may notice that communication is rather stereotypical, sometimes even shallow. Unfortunately, genuine communication cannot consist of glued phrases.
:oops:



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27 Dec 2013, 7:04 pm

I´ve done it a lot, - both characters and people, I knew..
I don´t do it much anymore. Age, I presume.


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Naturalist
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27 Dec 2013, 7:36 pm

Agathon wrote:
There are certain phrases (not just words but gestures and pitch) that I know exactly whom I got it from. And when I pull that phrase up, there is an image of the person I took it from in my mind.


This happens to me frequently. Also, I do tend to absorb others' behavior, speech patterns, gestures etc. If more than one person is present, my personality is often a mash-up of the personalities which surround me, especially if I am nervous (and I usually am if other people are around). This really peeves me, so sometimes I will deliberately adopt the demeanor of someone else I know who is more socially adept (my mother, for instance, or my husband). Maybe these habits are unavoidable because if I was truly myself I would be a) silent, and b) absent...



Jensen
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27 Dec 2013, 8:40 pm

Are you sure, that aspies are more prone to doing this than NT´s?


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DarkRain
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27 Dec 2013, 8:47 pm

I can honestly say I have never done this. I'm me...why should I mimic other people?



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27 Dec 2013, 9:54 pm

I have studied the behavior of certain people who I thought were successful (either socially or otherwise) and tried to mimic it. This includes my older brother (who I idolized when I was young).

It has, at times, caused problems. Because a certain “way” about things may work in one situation, but not in another. Figuring out how to act in an appropriate manner for a particular context is a constant learning experience, that can be quite draining and frustrating.



Dr_Cheeba
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28 Dec 2013, 9:44 pm

I'm a mimic as well socially, though I don't always mean to. What I'll do is learn traits from a few people and combine them. Whether it be sayings/phrases said at certain times, facial expressions or ticks. I guess this is my way of learning how to behave and communicate socially because I lack the skills myself.

However, the problem lies with these people that you mimic finding you out. One of my co-workers, whose very social, called me his clone the one day as a joke. Luckily, most of the skills I've learn to mimic come from past employers who aren't around anymore :P



wolfwynd
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29 Dec 2013, 6:42 am

I do this though not consciously. It's only afterwards that I work out I've done it or when someone else points it out.



EzraS
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29 Dec 2013, 7:38 am

I totally mimic and like sometimes become someone's doppelganger haha.



DevilKisses
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29 Dec 2013, 8:32 am

I think everyone does this to a degree. How do you think people learn to talk and socialize?


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StarCity
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29 Dec 2013, 3:19 pm

I do this too.
If I am in the company of another person for an extended period I tend to "mould to their personality" almost like a chamaeleon.
Thankfully, once I no longer are in their company within a day or 2 I am back to myself.
Durin that interim period I struggle knowing what is my stuff & what is theres.


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We can either try to "fit in" with the rest of society, or we can be so egocentric that we can't be bothered.
I choose the actor. I observe NT's. I listen to their socializing. I practice it, so in social situations I can just emulate/mimic what is expected.
It isn't natural for me, but it enables me to "fit in".
It is VERY tiring and draining, but at least we can appear like them even though it is an act. Like being on the stage.
They can't see it is emulation, and so we are accepted.


ClumsyNinja
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31 Dec 2013, 3:30 am

Naturalist wrote:
[quote="Agathon" if I was truly myself I would be a) silent, and b) absent...


Haha, this is it exactly for me :)