Mimetic Desire

Mimetic influence can shape choices, values, company culture, and ambitions before conscious reflection. Mimetic desire is better understood as pre-rational or subconscious than as deliberate rational imitation. Mimetic desire is a subconscious social process in which people want what others appear to want. Mimetic desire is not a rational process. Mimetic desire is the idea that people learn what to want by observing what others want. People influenced by mimetic desire usually do not notice the imitation while it is occurring. Mimetic desire means people often learn what to want from others. Humans infer value, intention, and desire through other humans across developmental stages. Adults can perceive desires revealed by behavior even when explicit statements say something else. Adult mimetic desire is presented as a continuation of infant gaze-following, imitation, and intention-reading at a more complex level. A desire can feel personal while being borrowed from the surrounding social environment. Student anxiety about internships may come from mimetic environments that define what successful students are supposed to want. A practical response to mimetic desire is to ask where…