Abstract
When actions are observed, individuals can automatically imitate them. Individuals could also change from imitating to being complementary with others in a context where feedback is required. This study investigated the influence of gender on the action response when agents were observed to execute dangerous actions. Experiments 1 and 2 included 30 males and 30 females, respectively. In Experiment 1, we established an imitation context of an agent operating a dangerous or neutral object. When the male agent reached and grasped a dangerous object, the imitation effect (facilitation effect when the agent’s action hand and the participant’s response hand were on a specular side) was observed for both male and female participants. This effect was not observed for either male or female participants when the agent was female. When the agent reached and grasped a neutral object, the imitation effect was obtained for both female and male participants. In Experiment 2, we establish a complementary context of an agent moving a dangerous or neutral object toward the participant. When the dangerous action was performed by the female agent, the complementary effect (facilitation effect when the agent's action hand and the participant’s response hand were on an anatomical side) was only observed for male participants. When a neutral action was observed, the complementary effect was found for both male and female participants. These results support and extend the view that the gender characteristics play an important role in the imitation of action and complementarity in a dangerous context.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the grant from Humanity and Social Science Youth foundation of Ministry of Education of China (22XJC190004) and the basic research program of Natural Science in Shaanxi Province (2020JQ-897).
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Zhao, L., Zhang, X. & Huyan, Y. The influence of agent’s gender on observer’s response in different action contexts. Curr Psychol 42, 29111–29121 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03980-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03980-5