Physiological synchrony is associated with attraction in a blind date setting

Prochazkova, Eliska; Sjak-Shie, Elio E.; Behrens, Friederike; Lindh, Daniel; Kret, Mariska E.

doi:10.1038/s41562-021-01197-3

Cited by 50 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(81 reference statements)

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“…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). Consequently, while facial mimicry of discrete emotions might inform the automatic categorization of emotional expressions in passive observers, the ANS might only be strongly activated by social signals in real social settings, with the dynamics between interactants reflecting their (emotional) alignment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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

et al. 2022

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“…However, factors such as the angle and distance of the camera from the people might have made it challenging to observe minute emotional expressions (for instance, a faint or coy smile), which would have facilitated gauging the others' interest. In contrast, in other previous work (Prochazkova et al, 2021 ), participants were filmed in close range, so subtle spontaneous emotional reactions are easy to detect. Therefore, an uninvolved third-party observer might be able to decode attraction cues better than the persons in the date themselves if the date allowed for less stilted behaviours and if subtle expressions were expressed and visible.…”

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confidence: 83%

“…Like other emotions (e.g., anger or fear), attraction influences others' behavior (e.g., Ekman, 1992 ; Montoya et al, 2018 ; Russell, 2003 ). Notably, the experience of attraction is linked to heightened arousal, which previous research has demonstrated by measuring these psychophysiological processes via heart rate and electrodermal conductance (Foster et al, 1998 ; but see Prochazkova et al, 2021 ). These physiological processes can act as somatic markers (Damasio, 1996 ) and are used in efficiently interpreting an ambiguous situation, such as a first romantic encounter.…”

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confidence: 97%

“…These physiological processes can act as somatic markers (Damasio, 1996 ) and are used in efficiently interpreting an ambiguous situation, such as a first romantic encounter. Interestingly, previous research has shown that people on a speed date can indicate whether they would like to meet their partner again only after 3 s of looking at their partner, and their judgment remains (mostly) consistent throughout the speed date (Prochazkova et al, 2021 ). Thus, these findings illustrate that attraction can emerge quickly, linked to specific physiological processes, and guide behaviour during social interactions.…”

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confidence: 98%

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Can third-party observers detect attraction in others based on subtle nonverbal cues?

et al. 2022

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In a series of three studies, we examined whether third-party observers can detect attraction in others based on subtle nonverbal cues. We employed video segments of dates collected from a speed-dating experiment, in which daters went on a brief (approx. 4 min) blind-date and indicated whether they would like to go on another date with their brief interaction partner or not. We asked participants to view these stimuli and indicate whether or not each couple member is attracted to their partner. Our results show that participants could not reliably detect attraction, and this ability was not influenced by the age of the observer, video segment location (beginning or middle of the date), video duration, or general emotion recognition capacity. Contrary to previous research findings, our findings suggest that third-party observers cannot reliably detect attraction in others. However, there was one exception: Recognition rose above chance level when the daters were both interested in their partners compared to when they were not interested.

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“…Recent research has shown that people also synchronize their cardiac and respiratory rhythms with each other (see Palumbo et al, 2016 for a review) when they engage in natural forms of interaction, such as high-arousal rituals (Konvalinka et al, 2011), natural conversation (McFarland, 2001, choir singing (Müller & Lindenberger, 2011), or when coordinating behaviour (Fusaroli et al, 2016;Noy et al, 2015). This phenomenon has also been reported between romantic couples (Goldstein et al, 2017;Helm et al, 2012;Prochazkova et al, 2021) and mother-infant dyads (Feldman et al, 2011;McFarland et al, 2020), and hence may also have a role in the formation of social bonds (for recent reviews, see e.g., Cross et al, 2019;Michael et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

The Role of Reciprocity in Dynamic Interpersonal Coordination of Physiological Rhythms

Konvalinka¹,

Sebanz²,

Knoblich³

2022

SSRN Journal

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Physiological synchrony is associated with attraction in a blind date setting

Cited by 50 publications

References 55 publications

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

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

Can third-party observers detect attraction in others based on subtle nonverbal cues?

The Role of Reciprocity in Dynamic Interpersonal Coordination of Physiological Rhythms

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