The better the relationship the more coordinated cooperation in dating
couples? An Evidence from EEG Hyperscanning
Abstract
Existing research has found that individuals with higher relationship
quality in intimate relationships tend to exhibit higher levels of tacit
understanding and better interpersonal coordination in social
interactions. However, the cognitive neural mechanisms between intimate
relationship quality and interpersonal coordination are unclear. We thus
argued that interpersonal neural synchronization during interpersonal
interactions is an important mediator of intimacy quality and
interpersonal coordination. To test this hypothesis, interpersonal
neural synchrony and interpersonal coordination were measured in
heterosexual dating couples during the completion of a jigsaw puzzle
interaction task using an EEG-based hyperscanning technique. A total of
33 couples’ data were included in the analysis. The results showed that
β-band synchronization in the left sensorimotor cortex of both members
of a romantic couple fully mediated the relationship between intimacy
quality and interpersonal coordination during the jigsaw puzzle task. In
addition, we found that intimacy quality significantly predicted
interpersonal neural synchrony in a jigsaw puzzle task with interaction
but not in a jigsaw puzzle task without interaction. These findings
support the idea that intimacy is a result of interindividual
interactions and that interpersonal neural synchronization during
interactions plays an important role in relationship quality and
interpersonal coordination.