Physiological synchrony is associated with cooperative success in real-life interactions

Behrens, Friederike; Snijdewint, Joyce A; Moulder, Robert; Prochazkova, Eliska; Sjak-Shie, Elio E.; Boker, Steven M.; Kret, Mariska E.

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-76539-8

Cited by 60 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Even though our study did not provide evidence for singular interpersonal PS, other researchers showed signi cantly higher PS in original than in random pairings [45][46][47] . As PS is associated with emotional 48,49 , attachment and coregulatory processes 32 , this discrepancy to our study could be explained by the low emotional and social engagement involved in our tapping task.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 96%

The ways our hearts tick together – A vegetative hyperscanning study involving a self-paced interpersonal motor entrainment task

Flory

Guglielmini

Scholkmann

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Cardiac physiological synchrony between two persons is considered to be an important component of social interaction. Yet, the processes underlying physiological synchrony remain unclear. We aim to investigate these processes. 20 dyads (19 men, 21 women, age: mean 23.7, range: 18–35) engaged in a self-paced interpersonal tapping synchronization task under different conditions of blocking sensory communication channels. Applying wavelet transform coherence analysis, a significant increase in heart rate synchronization from baseline to task execution was found while there was no statistically significant difference across conditions. Furthermore, the control analysis, which assessed the synchrony between randomly combined dyads of participants showed no difference from the original dyads’ synchrony. We showed that interindividual cardiac physiological synchrony during self-paced synchronized finger tapping resulted from a task-related stimulus equally shared by all individuals. We hypothesize that by applying mental effort to the task, individuals changed into a similar mental state, altering their cardiac regulation. This so-called psychophysiological mode provoked more uniform, less variable oscillation patterns across all individuals leading to similar heart rate coherence independent of subsequent pairings. With this study, we provide new insights into heart rate coherence and highlight the importance of appropriate study design and control analysis.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 96%

The ways our hearts tick together – A vegetative hyperscanning study involving a self-paced interpersonal motor entrainment task

Flory

Guglielmini

Scholkmann

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A laboratory study showed that synchronized movements can enhance memory for a social interaction (Macrae et al, 2008). Synchrony could facilitate effective cooperation in couples, allowing them to more successfully complete daily cognitive tasks such as managing finances (Behrens et al, 2020). Furthermore, couples who are in "sync" may have greater insight into each other's goals, which could be linked with promoting each other's goal pursuit and progress (Hoppmann & Gerstorf, 2013).…”

Section: Extending the Scope Of Synchrony To Other Areas Of Functioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

A developmental–contextual model of couple synchrony across adulthood and old age.

Pauly

Gerstorf

Wahl

et al. 2021

Psychology and Aging

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Most theoretical models on social dynamics governing development and health across adulthood and old age rely on a “single-unit” approach. We put forth a developmental–contextual model (CoSynch) that utilizes the concept of synchrony (interdependent fluctuations in physiological states and health behaviors) as a novel way to conceptualize social developmental dynamics. Using the sample case of romantic partners, this model aims for an innovative integration of available findings addressing everyday microsocial dynamics in dyads that contribute to overall partner concordance in health trajectories. Specifically, the model builds on 5 propositions to integrate existing empirical findings and infuse future research. Proposition P1: Synchrony is shaped by closeness and shared contexts; P2: Synchrony in physiology and health behaviors follows a u-shaped curve with younger and older adult couples showing greater synchrony than middle-aged couples, but with greater diversification of synchrony in very old age; P3: Couple synchrony is profoundly shaped by life events; P4: Synchrony is correlated with pertinent individual and dyad characteristics; P5: Effects of everyday couple synchrony accumulate over time, thereby carrying significant implications for the health of all involved parties. We also point to open questions and suggest future directions for applying the model that are going to advance knowledge on the social and health dynamics underlying adult development and aging.

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“…In the past years, this approach yielded promising insights in the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying social interactions (Redcay & Schilbach, 2019 ). Recent findings successfully expanded an interactive viewpoint to the physiological level: Cooperation as a facet of prosocial behavior was found to be positively associated with two interactants’ synchronization in SCLs (Behrens et al, 2020 ). Synchrony in SCLs, as well as in heart rate, was further shown to be predictive of interpersonal attraction (Prochazkova et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reading Your Emotions in My Physiology? Reliable Emotion Interpretations in Absence of a Robust Physiological Resonance

et al. 2022

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Affective states are expressed in an individual’s physical appearance, ranging from facial expressions and body postures, to indicators of physiological arousal (e.g., a blush). Confirming the claimed communicative function of these markers, humans are capable of distinguishing between a variety of discrete emotion displays. In an attempt to explain the underlying mechanism, characteristic bodily changes within the observer, including physiological arousal and mimicry, have been suggested to facilitate the interpretation of an expression. The current study aims to create a holistic picture of emotion perception by (1) using three different sources of emotional information (prototypical facial expressions, bodily expressions, and subtle facial cues) and (2) measuring changes in multiple physiological signals (facial electromyography, skin conductance level, skin temperature, and pupil size). While participants clearly discriminated between perceived emotional expressions, there was no overall 1–1 correspondence with their physiological responses. Some specific but robust effects were observed. Angry facial expressions were consistently responded to with a peak in skin conductance level. Furthermore, sad body expressions were associated with a drop in skin temperature. In addition to being the best recognized expression, viewing happy faces elicited congruent facial muscle responses, which supports the potential role of embodied simulation in emotion recognition. Lastly, tears were not only rated as highly emotional intense but also evoked a peak in skin conductance level in the observer. The absence of distinct physiological responses to other expressions could be explained by the lacking functionality of affect sharing in a non-interactive experimental context. Consequentially, emotional alignment in body and mind might especially take place in real social situations, which should be considered in future research. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-021-00083-5.

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Physiological synchrony is associated with cooperative success in real-life interactions

Cited by 60 publications

References 54 publications

The ways our hearts tick together – A vegetative hyperscanning study involving a self-paced interpersonal motor entrainment task

The ways our hearts tick together – A vegetative hyperscanning study involving a self-paced interpersonal motor entrainment task

A developmental–contextual model of couple synchrony across adulthood and old age.

Reading Your Emotions in My Physiology? Reliable Emotion Interpretations in Absence of a Robust Physiological Resonance

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