Nonverbal synchrony

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Nonverbal synchrony (synchronicity from Greek "together in time") describes the temporal synchronization and alignment of the nonverbal behavior of two or more interacting individuals. The proof of existence of this effect and its importance is increasingly the subject of psychological research. The statistical proof of synchrony is usually based on the cross-correlation of time series that contain the body movement or physiological processes of the individuals. A well-known phenomenon is the unconscious adjustment and synchronization of walking frequency in groups, for example on the newly opened Millennium Bridge in London. The "contagious" effect of emotional expressive behavior, such as laughing or yawning, is also known.

Nonverbal Synchrony in Psychology

Psychological research is increasingly concerned with synchrony in social interaction in general and in psychotherapy. Individuals synchronize not only in their words, but also in terms of their movements and gestures, as well as their physiological activation in general. Statistical evidence can be found in the psychological literature on the synchrony of physiological sympathetic activity and the synchrony of movement of psychotherapists and clients in psychotherapy sessions.

In therapy sessions, synchrony is related to the quality of the therapy relationship and predicts a better therapy outcome. Synchronicity of movement is also shown by test subjects who are unknown to one another and who discuss general topics. In social interactions, a correlation with positive affect, mutual empathy and prosocial emotions was found (chameleon effect).

Nonverbal synchrony and embodiment

The phenomenon of non-verbal synchrony relates generally to the area of embodiment of social interaction and individual cognition, because synchrony concerns the interdependence of physical and psychological variables that define embodiment. Nonverbal synchrony shows that social interaction is always embedded in physical processes - communication goes well beyond sending abstract information to a recipient. The embodiment of synchrony is also thematized in the concept of "mimicry" in social psychology as well as in neurobiological research on mirror neurons , "predictive coding" and the principle of reactivity .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Edward Ott, Bruno Eckhardt, Allan McRobie, Daniel M. Abrams, Steven H. Strogatz: Theoretical mechanics: Crowd synchrony on the Millennium Bridge . In: Nature . tape 438 , no. 7064 , November 2005, ISSN  1476-4687 , p. 43–44 , doi : 10.1038 / 438043a ( nature.com [accessed January 13, 2019]).
  2. ^ Scott P. Orr, Carl D. Marci, The Effect of Emotional Distance on Psychophysiologic Concordance and Perceived Empathy Between Patient and Interviewer . In: Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback . tape 31 , no. 2 , June 1, 2006, ISSN  1573-3270 , p. 115–128 , doi : 10.1007 / s10484-006-9008-4 ( springer.com [accessed January 13, 2019]).
  3. ^ Fabian Ramseyer, Wolfgang Tschacher: Nonverbal synchrony in psychotherapy: Coordinated body movement reflects relationship quality and outcome. In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology . tape 79 , no. 3 , 2011, ISSN  1939-2117 , pp. 284–295 , doi : 10.1037 / a0023419 ( apa.org [accessed January 13, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Wolfgang Tschacher, Sander L. Koole: Synchrony in Psychotherapy: A Review and an Integrative Framework for the Therapeutic Alliance . In: Frontiers in Psychology . No. 7 , 2016, ISSN  1664-1078 , doi : 10.3389 / fpsyg.2016.00862 , PMID 27378968 ( frontiersin.org [accessed January 13, 2019]).
  5. ^ Frontiers in Psychology. Accessed January 13, 2019 .
  6. ^ Tanya L. Chartrand, John A. Bargh: The chameleon effect: The perception-behavior link and social interaction. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . tape 76 , no. 6 , 1999, ISSN  0022-3514 , p. 893-910 , doi : 10.1037 // 0022-3514.76.6.893 ( apa.org [accessed January 13, 2019]).