Imitation and social bonding

Perhaps not a surprising finding but if it applies to humans (and I think it does) then further evidence of the mimetic basis for social humanity. Imitation Promotes Social Bonding In Primates: "capuchin monkeys preferred the company of researchers who imitated them to that of researchers who did not imitate them. The monkeys not only spent more time with their imitators, but also preferred to engage in a simple task with them even when provided with the option of performing the same task with a non-imitator."
This would seem to provide a basis for NLP's technique called mirroring as a way to build rapport ...