This multidisciplinary overview of research into emotional mimicry and empathy explores when, how and why emotional mimicry occurs.

Introduction: why and how we mimic emotions Agneta H. Fischer and Ursula Hess; 1. On the sharing of mind Keith Oatley; 2. The role of mimicry in understanding the emotions of others Mariëlle Stel; 3. Revisiting the simulation of smiles model: the what, when, and why of mimicking smiles Paula M. Niedenthal, Sebastian Korb, Adrienne Wood and Magdalena Rychlowska; 4. The neuroscience of mimicry during social interactions Leo Schilbach; 5. The social dimension as antecedent and effect of emotional mimicry Ursula Hess, Isabell Hühnerl, Job van der Schalk and Agneta H. Fischer; 6. More than just a mirror: examining the cross-channel mimicry of emotional expressions Skyler Hawk and Agneta H. Fischer; 7. Emotional mimicry: underlying mechanisms and individual differences Marianne Sonnby-Borgström; 8. Mimicry, emotion, and social context: insights from typical and atypical humans, robots, and androids Piotr Winkielman, Liam C. Kavanagh and Evan Carr; 9. The neurological basis of empathy and mimicry Miriam Schuler, Sebastian Mohnke and Henrik Walter; 10. Conclusion: towards a better understanding of emotional mimicry Ursula Hess and Agneta H. Fischer.