Interpersonal Synchrony and Successful Social Connection

Loneliness and social disconnection are among the most urgent challenges to American society. They are estimated to cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually in dampened economic activity, lost productivity, and healthcare expenses. Increasing physical isolation and a reliance on remote interaction exacerbate those costs, though we also know that people may still exhibit social disconnection even though they are physically surrounded by others. The proposed research program tests a novel, integrative account of how people form meaningful connections in both in-person and online social interaction. The present project examines the role of emotional synchrony in the creation of social bonds. Both laboratory studies, and studies conducted on online platforms, test the idea that when two individuals spontaneously synchronize their emotional behaviors (e.g., facial expression and vocal affect) over the course of an interaction, they feel as if they can predict each other’s affective responses, and the experience of predictability in turn causes feelings of being connected. These studies also examine the conditions under which departures from emotional synchrony (i.e., asynchrony) enhance feelings of connectedness. When changes to an interaction are required, such as novel contributions to a conversation or the regulation of negative emotion, breaking out of synchrony may be more conducive to the establishment of social bonds. Understanding the complexities of synchronous and asynchronous emotional behaviors that give rise to feelings of social connection between two people will break new theoretical ground and can inform translational solutions to ameliorating feelings of disconnection and loneliness. By modeling the necessary features of social connection in both in-person and online contexts, the project advances new insights on human-technology interactions that can inform artificial intelligence generated solutions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.