Studies // Cited work

Synchrony and cooperation

Wiltermuth, S. S., & Heath, C. (2009). Synchrony and cooperation.

Level B Experiment doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02253.x

What this study supports

Supports the claim that synchronous activity increased later cooperation, including under personal cost. Short laboratory tasks; long-term effects were not studied.

Who was studied
Participants in three experiments acting in or out of synchrony before group economic games.
Design
Experiment
Level of evidence
Controlled studies: randomised or experimental designs, and syntheses of correlational work.

Claims that rest on it

Each claim states what the site asserts, at what strength, and with what caveat.

EmpiricalLevel BConfidence HIGH

Moving or tapping in synchrony with others increased liking for a partner and later cooperation, including cooperation that required personal sacrifice.

Scope
Short laboratory tasks with small groups or pairs, outcomes measured shortly afterwards.
Caveat
The tasks are minimal compared with dance or crowds, and long-term effects were not measured.

Last reviewed · Review due · synchrony-affiliation-cooperation

EmpiricalLevel BConfidence HIGH

The cited synchrony and music studies measured liking, cooperation, pain thresholds, closeness and reward responses during or shortly after the activity, and provide insufficient evidence that collective rhythm reduces the difficulties people bring into it.

Scope
The outcomes measured in the synchrony and music studies cited on this site.
Caveat
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence; longer-term studies could find lasting benefits.

Last reviewed · Review due · synchrony-evidence-short-term

TheoreticalLevel DConfidence HIGH

Synchronization of coupled oscillators is used on this site only as an analogy for moving in time with others; the findings linking human synchrony with cooperation and bonding come from experiments with people and do not test the oscillator model.

Scope
The relation between the synchrony model and the human research cited on this site.
Caveat
Some researchers model interpersonal coordination with coupled oscillators; that literature is not reviewed here.

Last reviewed · Review due · oscillator-synchrony-is-analogy