Mimics/Mimicry

[CuriousSoul]

I think it is mainly just a question of poor translation, sometimes words that sound almost the same have slightly different meaning in different languages. For the most part they seem to mean similarities in the body language, similar expressions, gestures, tone of voice, etc. that representatives of the same type sometimes exhibit and that can be of use in typing. Therefore for example visual identification is difficult if you can only look at a picture or two but apparently much more reliable if you can observe the person you are trying to type for some time.

[CuriousSoul]

I think it is still difficult to tell reliably when people are using any particular functions. A more reliable method of typing seems to be to look at the person as a whole. When two total strangers react and behave in a very similar fashion in similar circumstances it is at least a potential give-away that they might well have the same type.
People do also often imitate each other's behavior and manners. It is a well-known phenomenon in psychology:

Imitation, one of the primary forms of social learning, is often thought of as a low-level, relatively childish or even mindless phenomenon. This may be a serious mistake. It is beginning to look, in light of recent work in the cognitive sciences, as if imitation is a rare, perhaps even uniquely human ability, which may be fundamental to what is distinctive about human learning, intelligence, rationality, and culture. If so, this will have important consequences for our understanding of ourselves both individually and socially. In particular, social learning by imitation is not merely a mechanism by means of which children acquire culture, but may also have pervasive influence throughout adulthood, in ways that we are only just beginning to understand.
http://www.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/Psychology/imitation/

I would say that people often start to imitate each other almost unconsciously, perhaps it is partly a way of building alliances, people instinctively like people who are similar to themselves and accept their values. In evolutionary terms it seems likely that it has generally paid off to be part of a group and not to stand out, at least in any strange way. As they say: When in Rome do as the Romans do.

[Dmitri Lytov]

When you talked about "mimics" or "mimicry", you probably meant my site.
Maybe I used a bad dictionary (sometimes I hesitate which English terms to use), but under this word I meant facial expressions, facial motions, AS OPPOSED to the "visual identification" advertized by socionics.com - the last, in my opinion, deals with the shape of nose, chin etc., but not with human character, while mimicry to certain extent reflects this character.

[CuriousSoul]

Often with these international loandwords one can get it intuitively right about nine times out of ten but then the tenth one is a tricky one. There is a similar word also in Finnish "mimiikka" which indeed means body language, gestures etc. The English word mimicry, though of the same latin root, has a different meaning:

Mimicry \Mim"ic*ry\, n.

1. The act or practice of one who mimics; ludicrous imitation for sport or ridicule. [1913 Webster]

2. (Biol.) Protective resemblance; the resemblance which certain animals and plants exhibit to other animals and plants or to the natural objects among which they live, -- a characteristic which serves as their chief means of protection against enemies; imitation; mimesis; mimetism. [1913 Webster]
http://www.dictionary.net/mimicry

I suppose the Finnish and Russian meanings have evolved from one of the meanings of the word mimic:

mimic

verb {T} mimicking, mimicked, mimicked

to copy the way in which a particular person usually speaks and moves, usually in order to amuse people:
- She was mimicking the various people in our office¨
http://www.dictionary.net/mime

[CuriousSoul]

I think Dmitri should just change mimicry to facial expressions and body language or something similar. I am intimately aware of how easy it is even for the most fluent non-native speakers to occasionally make silly mistakes.

I do not think that smiling a lot is a good indication of the behavior of ethical types. People usually smile when they try to look friendly, and for example ENTJs and ESTJs often smile much more than ISFJs and INFJs. And then there are sex roles and cultural differences on how and when people are generally expected to show emotions. Being ethical type is much more about what you feel inside, and what it looks like to the outside depends also very much on the specific type and subtype, etc. you know how the story goes...

[Creepy-]

Extroverted ethic is also called Ethic of emotions.
This function reflects person’s own emotions, his/her emotional, highly personal and passionate reaction to what is going on around. Types with this dominant functions are eloquent, OFTEN SMILING...

Secondary introverted ethic (the types Psychologist and Politician, XXX-ethical extroverts)

They may be misperceived for the quasi-identical types (Mentor and Bonvivant with the dominant extroverted ethic), because they are active, EVER-SMILING...

It's a characteristic behavior of those who are extraverted and feeling in Ego manifestations or extraverted and use extraverted feeling consciously (ESFJ, ENFJ, ENFP, ESFP, ENTJ, and ESTJ).

It's one of those 'mixed concepts.' I might do a post on getting red of all those... I tend to associate Fe with smiling because Fe type often do smile and that is my dual... so obviously conflicts of interest can manifest.

[Beautiful sky]

The partner seems to be flawless if she is able to mesmerize by her look and voice, by the energy of her words and of her expressions and gestures. (And all of it are attributes of the emotional expressiveness of EIE (Hamlet) - innate and acquired: taken note of and learned, tested and tried, honed to mastery, brought to the highest level of perfection.) Any EIE is able to learn good manners, movements, facial expressions and plastics, knowing that they will be useful in life. It is not necessary to visit the actor's studio for this; although Hamlet is pulled to theater, to cinema, to spectacles of all genres and levels, from an early childhood. EIEs are extremely observant – they notice and copy everything they find interesting in others: the characters, facial expressions, gestures, looks, gait and smile – and choose for themselves the model that seems most appropriate for the occasion, or the most natural and organic to their environment.

[Socionics Is Not A Cult]

Unbelievable; that mimics extremely well a Stratiyevskaya article I once read.

[Alomoes]

Mirroring is a psychological technique I use to learn about the other person. Because I have a very well defined understanding of myself, I can, if I copy someone else, learn from myself as if I am that person. It also makes me happy to see others do it as well to others.

Met a mimic the other day. He was just as practical as I am, but accidentally pissed off the ISTj by saying he's an alcoholic. See, I know better than that. I did say, probably, without saying yes, probably, which was a mistake to compound on top of his mistakes. Then I'm like, woah. This guy's a sociopath. He would make gestures in my direction. Implied the rage. Then I gave him a ride home. No, turns out he's not. He's just very, very, very unable to judge psychological distance. Good thing I'm logical. If I was actually an ISFj or INFj, that'd be a bit more spookier than I'd want it to be.