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Berger et al. (2024): Mimicry Prevalence, Severity Scaling, and Distress Relief Effects Demand Integration into Misophonia Models

In their 2024 literature review on misophonia and the role of social cognition, Berger describes mimicry as a frequently reported feature of misophonia that poses a challenge to existing conceptual frameworks. Early case studies had already identified mimicry as a key characteristic of the condition, and initial self-report data suggested that approximately 55% of sufferers engaged in mimicry, although this estimate was based on a small sample. A larger online study with 676 participants replicated this pattern, finding a similar incidence rate of over 45%. Importantly, mimicry was shown to increase with greater misophonia severity, to be more commonly triggered by orofacial sounds such as eating and chewing than by environmental or other human-produced sounds, and to provide relief from distress for some individuals. Together, these findings raise important theoretical questions about why mimicry occurs and why it may alleviate distress, underscoring the need to incorporate mimicry into models of misophonia (Berger et al., 2024)