Synchronized affect in shared experiences strengthens social connection.

ABSTRACT: People structure their days to experience events with others. We gather to eat meals, watch TV, and attend concerts together. What constitutes a shared experience and how does it manifest in dyadic behavior? The present study investigates how shared experiences-measured through emotional, motoric, physiological, and cognitive alignment-promote social bonding. We recorded the facial expressions and electrodermal activity (EDA) of participants as they watched four episodes of a TV show for a total of 4 h with another participant. Participants displayed temporally synchronized and spatially aligned emotional facial expressions and the degree of synchronization predicted the self-reported social connection ratings between viewing partners. We observed a similar pattern of results for dyadic ph

SUBMITTER: Cheong JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10613250 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature