Have you ever been talking normally when the person beside you suddenly lowers their voice? You may find yourself doing exactly the same thing a few seconds later, without consciously deciding to speak more quietly. Perhaps you are in a library, an office, a hospital waiting room or even a crowded restaurant where the person next to you begins speaking softly. Your own voice may automatically follow. Psychology suggests that this kind of adjustment can be understood through social mimicry, vocal accommodation and conversational entrainment. People continuously modify aspects of their communication in response to their interaction partners, sometimes deliberately and sometimes with little conscious awareness. Research on the chameleon effect, for example, has shown that people can unconsciously imitate behaviors displayed by others during social interaction.
