Mirroring is a natural process that we use every day in our interaction with other people. However, once its mechanism is analyzed and understood, it can become a powerful mind control tool.
Mirroring is the process of becoming as much like the person you are trying to influence as possible. You can do this by mimicking both their physical (eg, body language) and non-physical (eg, values, thoughts, ideas, perception of reality) traits. Mirroring is necessary in influencing because in order to influence someone you must first establish a relationship with them and mirroring is one of the most effective means of establishing a relationship.
Rapport, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is a relationship marked by harmony, conformity, agreement, or affinity. So essentially, by deliberately mirroring or becoming like another person, you are ‘artificially’ establishing the relationship state that occurs spontaneously in everyday life between people who like each other. You must first establish a good relationship with someone in order to influence them, because people are motivated by emotions, not thoughts; therefore, to get them to do something, you must stir their emotions, appeal to their hearts, not their heads. Don’t try to change people’s minds; change your mood and your mind will follow.
An example of a natural and common reflex is the following: people in normal, everyday conversations, even if they are mere acquaintances with a low level of rapport, tend to adopt similar facial expressions. This is done automatically and is below your level of awareness. That’s one of the reasons people with conditions like autism, who aren’t as aware of or responsive to social cues as neurotypical (“normal”) people, find social interaction so challenging. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that we have specialized neurons in our brain that are responsible for reproducing in us (i.e., reflecting) feelings, emotions, etc. of other people and are believed to be part of the neurological basis of phenomena such as empathy, morality, etc. I mention all of these examples as evidence that we have evolved to naturally mirror each other on many different levels.
Is reflecting immoral? As with any form of mind control, mirroring is neither moral nor immoral, for it is simply a means to an end. If the end is to positively influence other people through reflection, then it is not immoral. The reverse, of course, is also true.
How can you reflect the reality of a person? Usually two; you can reflect both their external and internal reality.