A recent study published in Psychology of communication Researchers have discovered that certain individuals, called “super synchronizers,” have the unique ability to synchronize their physiological responses with those of others during a variety of social and nonsocial tasks. These individuals are perceived as more attractive. This suggests that the ability to synchronize may play an important role in human romantic attraction.
Physiological synchrony refers to the phenomenon by which the physiological responses of two individuals align or mirror each other during social interactions. This can include synchrony in heart rates, breathing, hormone levels, and other autonomic functions. When two people are in sync, their bodies reflect this harmony through corresponding rhythms in these different biological processes.
Previous research has established the importance of physiological synchrony in a variety of social contexts. Studies have shown that synchrony between romantic partners can enhance feelings of closeness and relationship satisfaction. For example, partners whose heart rates or breathing patterns align during interactions tend to report higher levels of intimacy and cooperation. Physiological synchrony has also been observed in parent-child interactions.
Despite the findings so far on physiological synchrony, several crucial questions remain unanswered, making further research necessary. One major gap is whether synchrony actively promotes attraction or is just a byproduct of existing attraction. In other words, do people become more synchronized because they are already attracted to each other, or does increased synchrony strengthen attraction?
“In my lab, we study the biological mechanisms that tightly bond two individuals. In this study, we sought to uncover a biological mechanism that influences mate choice in humans and how the ability to synchronize can be an indicator of fitness,” said study author Shir Atzil, director of the Bonding Neuroscience Lab and assistant professor at the Hebrew University.
The researchers first conducted an online experiment to explore the relationship between physiological synchrony and attractiveness. They recruited 144 participants, who were shown a 92-second video of a man and a woman interacting. These interactions were designed to exhibit either high or low levels of synchrony. The high synchrony condition involved the actors being in sync and responsive to each other, while the low synchrony condition had them acting more independently and less influenced by their partner.
Participants were randomly assigned to watch one of these two types of interactions. After watching the video, participants separately rated the attractiveness of the man and woman and their perceived mutual attraction.
Results showed that participants rated actors and their perceived mutual attraction higher in the high synchrony condition than in the low synchrony condition. This demonstrated that synchrony between individuals during interactions could enhance their perceived attractiveness, suggesting that synchrony may play an active role in creating attraction rather than simply being a consequence of it.
The researchers then conducted a speed-dating experiment to study the role of physiological synchrony in real-world romantic situations. Forty-eight participants (24 men and 24 women) took part in a series of speed-dating events. Each participant met four different partners for five-minute dates in a room designed to resemble a comfortable, homelike environment. During these dates, participants wore Empatica E4 wristbands that measured their electrodermal activity, providing a continuous record of their physiological arousal levels.
Before each date, participants rated their initial interest in their partner. After each date, they rated their level of attraction to their partner. These ratings were averaged across all dates to calculate each participant’s individual romantic attractiveness scores. Additionally, the wristband data were used to calculate each participant’s individual electrodermal synchrony scores by calculating the correlation between each pair’s electrodermal activity levels during their dates.
In addition to the speed dating, participants performed a finger-tapping task designed to measure nonsocial synchrony. In this task, participants tapped their fingers to the beat of a metronome, allowing the researchers to assess their ability to synchronize with an external, non-human rhythm.
The researchers found that some individuals consistently exhibited higher levels of synchrony, regardless of their partner or the task at hand. These “super synchronizers” were rated as more attractive by their speed dating partners.
Additionally, a significant correlation was observed between an individual’s ability to synchronize in the social context of speed dating and their performance in the non-social finger tapping task. This suggests that the ability to synchronize may be a general trait that influences attractiveness in different types of interactions.
“We found that synchronization capacity is stable across tasks and partners. Some people are super-synchronizers, and super-synchronizers are consistently rated as more attractive. Being sensitive to and attuned to a partner may help foster romantic bonds. Indeed, synchronized physiological states can enhance the regulation of various body systems, making interactions more rewarding and suggesting cognitive and evolutionary benefits.”
This study provides compelling evidence that physiological synchrony plays an important role in romantic attraction. But as with all research, there are some caveats. While the researchers manipulated synchrony in the online experiment, the speed dating experiment relied on naturally occurring interactions, making it difficult to establish a definitive causal relationship between synchrony and attraction. Future research could attempt to manipulate synchrony on real dates to see its effects on romantic interest and long-term relationship outcomes.
In the future, Atzil and his colleagues also plan to conduct additional research to “characterize supersynchronizers and their neural, behavioral, and physiological profile.”
The study, titled “Social and Nonsocial Synchrony Are Interdependent and Romantically Attractive,” was authored by Matan Cohen, Maayan Abargil, and Shir Atzil.
Mr. Cohen, Mr. Abargil, Mr. Ahissar and S. Atzil
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