Through with the looking glass: Escape responses to implicit mirror exposure

Based on the assumption that confrontation with one’s physical reflection can be aversive, we explored the appeal of possible “escape routes” when incidentally exposed to one’s mirror image. Compared to their no-exposure peers, individuals who felt less chronically “trapped” in their bodies showed increased interest in flow experiences and decreased interest in experiences involving low-level thinking or a subjective sense of meaning when exposed to their reflection. Mirror exposure also increased overall interest in “pure consciousness events,” wherein the transcendence of space and time figures centrally. The aversive effects of even implicit confrontation with one’s reflection therefore seem more diverse than anticipated based on existing frameworks such as Objective Self-Awareness theory, so additional theoretical development seems warranted.