An individual-specific understanding of how synchrony becomes curative

Introduction

Human beings constantly go in and out of interpersonal interactions in their daily lives; these interactions are assumed to have critical effects on mental health. But how such interactions affect mental health is poorly understood.

Project Overview

SynSig suggests that interpersonal synchrony is an individual-specific mechanism underlying curative relationships. It seeks to go beyond the one-size-fits-all “the higher the synchrony the better” theoretical assumption underlying the state-of-the-art research.

Individual-Specific Synchrony Signature

It is the first to propose that individuals have their own individual-specific trait-like synchrony signature as manifested across interacting partners.

Tailored Corrections

It further proposes that to make interactions curative, it is necessary to induce an individual-tailored correction to such a signature. That is, the amount and direction of the changes in synchrony must be guided by the individual’s synchrony signature.

Focus on Therapeutic Relationships

To develop an individual-specific understanding of synchrony, SynSig focuses on curative interactions encapsulated in time and space: the therapeutic relationship between the client and therapist.

Research Objectives

It will investigate the existence of individual-specific synchrony signatures and how individual-tailored correction of the signature serves as the mechanism transforming relationships into curative ones.

Methodology

It will implement multimodal markers (motion, acoustic, physiological, facial expression) for disentangling the trait-like synchrony signature and state-like deviations from it, of individuals participating in multiple dyadic interactions with humans and virtual humans.

Feedback System Development

The first multimodal feedback system on momentary deviations from the signature will be developed and used to facilitate individual-tailored changes in synchrony and draw causal inferences between such changes and mental health outcomes.

Expected Outcomes

The findings will provide new insights into the multi-layered individual-specific nature of synchrony and bring us closer to understanding how human connections affect our mental health.