Inter‐brain synchrony is associated with greater shared identity within naturalistic conversational pairs

Bibliographic Data

ID9620221
AuthorsNeal S Hinvest (0000-0001-7662-1039, Department of Psychology University of Bath Bath UK, corresponding author), Clive Ashwin (0000-0003-4606-7318, Department of Psychology University of Bath Bath UK), Muhammad Hijazy (Faculty of Business and law University of Northampton Northampton UK), Felix Carter (0000-0002-1020-2939, Department of Psychology University of Bristol Bristol UK), Chiara Scarampi (0000-0003-0152-1441, Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability (CIGEV) University of Geneva Geneva Switzerland), George Stothart (0000-0003-1323-1580, Department of Psychology University of Bath Bath UK), Laura G E Smith (0000-0002-8112-5096, Department of Psychology University of Bath Bath UK)
Year2025
Volume116
Issue1
Pages170-182
Publication date2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-1269 • E-ISSN: 2044-8295
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/bjop.12743
PMID39460494
OpenAlexW4403791514
LanguageEN
References cited41

Inter‐brain synchrony occurs between individuals who feel connected socially, but how synchrony relates to felt connectedness under naturalistic social interaction has remained enigmatic. We hypothesized that inter‐brain synchrony between naturally interacting individuals might be associated with the internalization of a social identity, a link between an individual's personal identity and the social group to which the individual belongs. A convenience sample of sixty participants were split into dyads and interacted naturalistically on a social task. Through mapping EEG oscillatory waveforms onto a conceptual model categorizing the formation of a social identity within a naturalistic conversation, greater inter‐brain synchrony was observed in the emergent stage within the formation of a social identity compared to earlier stages, where a social identity was not present. We provide evidence for greater neural synchrony related to higher socio‐psychological connectedness during the development of social identity under naturalistic social interaction

Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Identity (music) · Naturalism · Action Observation and Synchronization · Communication · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Psychology

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