Physiological synchrony is associated with attraction in a blind date setting
Open accessAbstract
Humans are social animals whose well-being is shaped by the ability to attract and connect with one another, often through brief interactions. In addition to physical features, a choreography of movements, physical reactions and subtle expressions may help promote attraction. Here, we measured the physiological dynamics between pairs of participants during real-life dating interactions outside the laboratory. Participants wore eye-tracking glasses with embedded cameras and devices to measure physiological signals including heart rate and skin conductance. We found that overt signals such as smiles, laughter, eye gaze or the mimicry of those signals were not significantly associated with attraction. Instead, attraction was predicted by synchrony in heart rate and skin conductance between partners, which are covert, unconscious and difficult to regulate. Our findings suggest that interacting partners' attraction increases and decreases as their subconscious arousal levels rise and fall in synchrony.
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In a recent study involving real-life dating interactions, attraction was not associated with overt social signals between individuals, such as eye gaze or laughter, but rather with synchrony in heart rate and skin conductance between individuals.
“A recent study involving real-life dating interactions between participants interestingly found that attraction was not associated with overt social signals between individuals, such as eye gaze or laughter, but rather with synchrony in heart rate and skin conductance between individuals [116].”
From The Neurobiology of Love and Pair Bonding from Human and Animal Perspectives (2023) · cites this paper as [116]
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Physiological synchrony is associated with cooperative success in real-life interactions
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“during psychotherapy (Messina et al. 2013; Palmieri et al. 2018; Tschacher and Meier 2020), cooperative problem-solving (Behrens et al. 2020; Danyluck and Page-Gould 2019), speed dates (Prochazkova et al. 2021; Zeevi et al. 2022), and mother– child interactions (Feldman et al. 2011; Feldman 2012).”
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- Authors
- Prochazkova, E., Sjak-Shie, E., Behrens, F., Lindh, D., & Kret, M. E.
- Affiliations
- Leiden University (NL)
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Prochazkova, E.
- Kret, M. E.
- Venue
- Nature Human Behaviour
- Published
- 2021-11-01
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 269-278
- ISSN
- 2397-3374 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3210449144
- Cited by
- 80
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 16 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 12.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Human Behaviour (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (406-15-026, 016.Vidi.185.036)
- H2020 European Research Council (802979)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- romantic attraction, physiological synchrony, heart rate, skin conductance, nonverbal communication, gaze, mimicry, social interaction
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Arousal, Facial Expression, Fixation, Ocular, Heart Rate, Humans
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