Face‑driven preference formation

Small, unconscious facial mimicry responses to another person’s positive expressions reliably predict which options a listener will choose (e.g., which movie they prefer) even when summaries are balanced. The finding comes from sensor‑tracked facial micro‑muscle activity in laboratory pairs and holds across spoken and recorded contexts. — If social‑cue mimicry reliably shapes preference, platforms, advertisers, political communicators, and designers must reckon with a covert persuasion channel that raises ethical, regulatory and disclosure questions.