LogFAQs > #906479166

In my experience, if you present yourself more optimistically the people you interact with will do the same. It's "contagious" in a way. People tend to try to reflect the person they're talking to or hanging out with as a means of fitting in and being accepted. There's plenty of studies on behavior where people will do things like mimic body language. If one person, for example, crosses their legs then the other person is likely to cross theirs as well soon after without really even thinking about it.

The more interested the other person is in your interaction, the more likely they are to mimic you and the quicker they do it. I actually like to test it sometimes when I'm hanging out or talking with someone. I'll do little things like intentionally start bouncing one foot and wait for the other person to start doing it. Then I'll stop and switch feet and see how long it takes before the other person switches theirs. It kind of makes you feel like you've got a superpower sometimes seeing how much you can actually influence the other person without them even realizing it. :-P

I've noticed the attitude seems to work the same way. When I was seriously depressed, I noticed that most of the people around me seemed to be really irritable or get angry easily. Now that I've gotten my depression under control and I'm pretty much always smiling, those same people seem to have a much better attitude too. It's not that those people have changed their lives all that much or anything. They just don't feel the negativity coming off of me, so they're not emulating it in response.
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PSN ID: Aristoph
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