Isopraxism was first discovered by Paul D. Maclean in 1975
Most of us have been practicing Isopraxism without knowing it
I was searching for a topic to write about today. Eventually, I made bullet points with a lot of ideas yesterday. As I unleashed the creative part of my brain, I was struck with this thought. It’s about isopraxism. I know that this might be a new word, and I was confused myself in the past about this whole concept of isopraxism. As time made its passage, I probed into the foundation of this terminology. It was introduced by a gentleman named Paul. D. Maclean, and he was the first one to use this word in a written format in the year 1975. Wow, that was a long time ago, don’t you think?
Why do we mirror the actions of others?
Isopraxism is known as the act of mirroring the actions of others. Isn’t that cool? We have been repeating each other’s actions for generations without actually considering the concepts of originality. Therefore, this is a part of our subconscious behavior. Why do we do this? That’s what we need to know. In order for us to fit into a particular environment, we need to know the lingo of that place. Language is definitely a great medium to open the verbal channels of communication between two or more people. That isn’t all that we are imitating. There are over a million things that we have copied from other people over a long duration of time. Additionally, there are a variety of nonverbal signals that are subject to subconscious replication.
There is a difference between imitating and mirroring:
There is a proper reason for mirroring in the world of isopraxism. These actions are common in our everyday routine. Unfortunately, neither the person enacting this mirroring behaviors, nor the person being mirrored have the slightest sense of awareness about what’s really going on. There is a huge difference between mirroring and imitation. Our imitations are based on levels of consciousness, and our acts of mirroring are based on the subconscious parts. That’s the beauty of this topic. Additionally, our subconscious mind learns a lot of things without our permission. It’s like a brave rebel, residing in the deepest parts of our life’s movie. Let’s give the imitations a little break as we talk in detail about this fantastic reality of isopraxism mirroring.
Isopraxism has been around since the beginning of time:
We can mirror each other in a plethora of ways. Therefore, I could unconsciously replicate someone’s gesture, attitude or even their style of communication. This beautiful act of mirroring has become a valuable part of society and social gatherings. If I subconsciously copy you, you would see me as a great connection. I am doing what you are doing, and I am fulfilling your expectations of the ideal friendship candidate. However, this world of isopraxism didn’t start just now. It’s been around before you and I were born. We just fell into the lap of time, and we have been the students of isopraxism from the day we were born. This is a way for people to link with each other on a common ground. Finally, we should have something similar if we are to be friends, isn’t it?