Dominant theoretical accounts of interpersonal synchrony, the temporal coordination of biobehavioral processes between several individuals, have employed a linear approach, generally considering synchrony as a positive state, and utilizing aggregate scores. However, synchrony is known to take on a dynamical form with continuous shifts in its timeline. Acting as one continuously, is not always the optimal state, due to an intrinsic tension between individualistic and synergistic forms of action that exist in many social situations. We propose an alternative theory of flexible multimodal synchrony which highlights context as a key component that defines "pulls" toward synchrony and "pulls" toward segregation inherent to the social situation. Traitlike individual differences and relationship variables then sensitize individuals to these contextual "pulls." In this manner, context, individual differences, and relationship variables provide the backdrop to the emergence of flexible and dynamical synchrony patterns, which we consider adaptive, in several modalities-behavioral, physiological, and neural. We point to three consequences of synchrony patterns: social-, task, and self-oriented. We discuss multimodal associations that arise in different contexts considering the theory and delineate hypotheses that emanate from the theory. We then provide two empirical proofs-of-concept: First, we show how individual differences modulate the effect of context on synchrony's outcomes in a novel dyadic motor game. Second, we reanalyze previously reported data, to show how a "flexibility" approach to synchrony data analysis improves predictive ability when testing for synchrony's effects on social cohesion. We provide ways to standardize the characterization of context and guidelines for future synchrony research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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柔性多模态同步理论。


关于人际同步，即几个个体之间生物行为过程的时间协调的主流理论解释采用了线性方法，通常将同步视为一种积极状态，并使用总分。然而，众所周知，同步性呈现出动态形式，其时间线不断变化。持续行动并不总是最佳状态，因为在许多社会场合中存在的个人主义和协同行动形式之间存在内在的紧张关系。我们提出了一种灵活的多模态同步的替代理论，该理论强调上下文是一个关键组成部分，它定义了对同步的 “拉力 ”和对社会情境固有的隔离的 “拉力”。然后，类似特征的个体差异和关系变量使个体对这些上下文“拉力”敏感。以这种方式，背景、个体差异和关系变量为灵活和动态同步模式的出现提供了背景，我们认为这是适应性的，以几种模式——行为、生理和神经。我们指出了同步模式的三个后果：社交、任务和自我导向。我们讨论了在不同背景下出现的多模态关联，考虑了理论，并描述了从理论中得出的假设。然后，我们提供了两个实证概念验证：首先，我们展示了个体差异如何在新颖的二元电机游戏中调节上下文对同步结果的影响。其次，我们重新分析了以前报告的数据，以展示在测试同步性对社会凝聚力的影响时，同步数据分析的“灵活性”方法如何提高预测能力。 我们为未来的同步研究提供了标准化背景表征和指南的方法。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 （c） 2024 APA，保留所有权利）。