Modeling and Measurement of Interpersonal Attraction and Coordination in Charged Social Space-Time

Abstract

A new interpretation of consciousness proposes that states of the mind and behavior may be treated as containing a net electrochemical charge. In the electrodynamic model, interpersonal interactions would exhibit attraction due to complementarily charged states. While this hypothesis remains to be verified with neuroimaging and other techniques, it is important to consider how psychology would in principle be described using charges in social space-time. Extended analysis of data from a recently developed method is used to demonstrate how this would occur during optimally coordinated cognitive-behavioral activity, or interpersonal "synchronicity." In an earlier study, pairs of individuals were asked to converse for an initial period, separate, and return to talk again after making a decision about when they were ready to meet for a second conversation with their partner. In addition to the beneficial effects of mindfulness that optimized subsequent interactions, participants with similar personality traits also appeared to be aligned and returned with greater simultaneous coordination. The interaction of pairs in the study may be considered to resemble coupled particles in an EPR experiment, and is used to show how complementary simultaneous coordination can be understood within the context of "charged social space-time." Synchronistic moments of meeting are treated as coherent charge states that converge under effective conditions after an interval of time. The implication is that interpersonal attraction and bonding may create social structures that are uniquely described by fundamental electrodynamic principles. The nature of consciousness and social behavior may require a model using charge-like reactions that progress as a function of biophysical energy, space, and time. Here, a method and principles for the development of a practical model of electrodynamic consciousness is detailed.