Is there a universal way to connect? Altering inter-brain synchrony by inducing social connectedness through movement

Hauptmeijer, Ryanne (2022) Is there a universal way to connect? Altering inter-brain synchrony by inducing social connectedness through movement. Master's Thesis / Essay, Computational Cognitive Science.

Preview	Text MasterThesis_Hauptmeijer.pdf Download (580kB) | Preview
	Text toestemming.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (97kB)

Abstract

Studies have shown that when people are dancing together, they feel more socially connected. We were wondering whether this connection is visible on a neural basis by brains that synchronize. In this thesis, the relationship between inter-brain synchrony (IBS) and feeling socially connected through movement is investigated. A performance during the Moving Futures Festival where two professional dancers explored various ways to connect, laid the foundation for the laboratory experiment. In this experiment, dyads moved in several social and nonsocial conditions while being hyperscanned by electroencephalography (EEG). The mean phase-locking value and imaginary coherence were used to compute IBS. Besides recording brain activity, the participants also reported how connected they felt in each condition. The results showed that the dyads experienced feeling more connected in most of the social conditions compared to the nonsocial conditions. In addition, we found significant IBS in various brain areas in the theta and alpha oscillations but not for the oscillations in the beta band. We predicted to see more IBS in the social conditions compared to the nonsocial conditions. We found conditions where this was indeed the case. However, we also found conditions where there was more IBS in the nonsocial conditions compared to the social conditions. The results suggest there exist ways of moving together that make people feel socially connected.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Supervisor name:	Vugt, M.K. van
Degree programme:	Computational Cognitive Science
Thesis type:	Master's Thesis / Essay
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	21 Feb 2022 10:50
Last Modified:	21 Feb 2022 10:50
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/26614

Actions (login required)

View Item