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Let’s Dance Together: Synchrony, Shared Intentionality and Cooperation

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  • Paul Reddish
  • Ronald Fischer
  • Joseph Bulbulia

Abstract

Previous research has shown that the matching of rhythmic behaviour between individuals (synchrony) increases cooperation. Such synchrony is most noticeable in music, dance and collective rituals. As well as the matching of behaviour, such collective performances typically involve shared intentionality: performers actively collaborate to produce joint actions. Over three experiments we examined the importance of shared intentionality in promoting cooperation from group synchrony. Experiment 1 compared a condition in which group synchrony was produced through shared intentionality to conditions in which synchrony or asynchrony were created as a by-product of hearing the same or different rhythmic beats. We found that synchrony combined with shared intentionality produced the greatest level of cooperation. To examinef the importance of synchrony when shared intentionality is present, Experiment 2 compared a condition in which participants deliberately worked together to produce synchrony with a condition in which participants deliberately worked together to produce asynchrony. We found that synchrony combined with shared intentionality produced the greatest level of cooperation. Experiment 3 manipulated both the presence of synchrony and shared intentionality and found significantly greater cooperation with synchrony and shared intentionality combined. Path analysis supported a reinforcement of cooperation model according to which perceiving synchrony when there is a shared goal to produce synchrony provides immediate feedback for successful cooperation so reinforcing the group’s cooperative tendencies. The reinforcement of cooperation model helps to explain the evolutionary conservation of traditional music and dance performances, and furthermore suggests that the collectivist values of such cultures may be an essential part of the mechanisms by which synchrony galvanises cooperative behaviours.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Reddish & Ronald Fischer & Joseph Bulbulia, 2013. "Let’s Dance Together: Synchrony, Shared Intentionality and Cooperation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(8), pages 1-13, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0071182
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071182
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sebastian Wallot & Panagiotis Mitkidis & John J McGraw & Andreas Roepstorff, 2016. "Beyond Synchrony: Joint Action in a Complex Production Task Reveals Beneficial Effects of Decreased Interpersonal Synchrony," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(12), pages 1-25, December.
    2. Arianna Maiorani & John A. Bateman & Chun Liu & Dayana Markhabayeva & Russell Lock & Massimiliano Zecca, 2022. "Towards semiotically driven empirical studies of ballet as a communicative form," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Miriam Rennung & Anja S Göritz, 2015. "Facing Sorrow as a Group Unites. Facing Sorrow in a Group Divides," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, September.
    4. Yingjia Wan & Hong Fu, 2019. "Temporal predictability promotes prosocial behavior in 5-year-old children," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-14, May.

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