scholarly journals Language and Movement Synchronization in Dyadic Psychotherapeutic Interaction – A Qualitative Review and a Proposal for a Classification

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Eduard Scheidt ◽  
Stefan Pfänder ◽  
Arianna Ballati ◽  
Stefan Schmidt ◽  
Claas Lahmann

In individual psychotherapy verbal communication and movement synchronization are closely interrelated. The microanalysis of timing, rhythm and gestalt of movement has established dynamic movement coordination as a systemic property of the dyadic interaction. Movement synchronization supports and enhances the unfolding of linguistic meaning. In order to substantiate the importance of the concept of synchrony for adult psychotherapy we review evidence from developmental psychology and discuss approaches to measure synchrony with particular reference to the naturalistic setting of dyadic psychotherapy. As the concept of synchrony is still ambiguous, and the respective interactional phenomena are ephemeral and fluid, in the current paper we suggest a set of five criteria for the description of synchronization in general terms and eight additional criteria which specifically enable the description of phenomena of movement synchronization. The five general dimensions are: (1) context, (2) modality, (3) resources, (4) entrainment, and (5) time-lag. The eight categories for the description of movement synchrony are: (1) spatial direction, (2) amplitude, (3) sinuosity, (4) duration, (5) event structure, (6) phase, (7) frequency, and (8) content. To understand the process of participatory sense-making and the emergence of meaning in psychotherapy, synchrony research has to cope with the multimodality of the embodied interaction. This requires an integrated perspective of movement and language. A system for the classification of synchrony phenomena may contribute to the linking of variations and patterns of movement with language and linguistic utterances.

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Fujiwara ◽  
Masanori Kimura ◽  
Ikuo Daibo

Abstract This study examined ways in which rhythmic features of movement contribute to bonding between individuals. Though previous studies have described synchrony as a form of social glue, this research extends those findings to consider the impact of fast versus slow tempo on movement synchrony. This two-part experiment examined dyadic interactions as they occurred between same-sex strangers (Study 1) and friends (Study 2). Participants were video-recorded as they engaged in 5- or 6-min chats, and synchrony was evaluated using wavelet transform via calculations of cross-wavelet coherence. Study 1 employed regression commonality analysis and hierarchical linear modeling and found that among various frequency bands, rapport between individuals was positively associated with synchrony under 0.025 Hz (i.e., slower than once every 40 s) and 0.5–1.5 Hz (i.e., once every 0.67–2 s). On the contrary, Study 2 determined that synchrony of 0.5–1.5 Hz was not impactful among friend dyads and only predictive of the motivation to cultivate a friendly relationship during interactions with strangers. These results indicate the existence of a distinctive rhythm for bonding individuals, and the role of pre-existing friendship as a moderator of the bonding effect of synchrony. However, the role of relative phase (i.e., timing of movement; same versus opposite timing) remains unclear, as the ratio of in- and anti-phase patterning had no significant influence on perceived rapport and motivation to develop relationships. On the basis of the research results, a theoretical contribution is proposed to the study of interpersonal coordination.


1975 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen K. Land

Summary Recent scholars disagree over whether Berkeley’s theory of meaning constitutes a radical departure from Locke in the direction of current philosophy of language or offers no real alternative to the semantics of Locke’s Essay concerning Human Understanding. Berkeley agrees with Locke that linguistic meaning consists in the transmission of ideas from speaker to hearer by means of words, but he does not accept the Lockean account of this transmission. Specifically he departs from Locke at two fundamental points: he insists that ideas themselves have meanings and stand in need of interpretation, and he holds that the meanings of ideas may vary with the contexts in which they occur. To accommodate Berkeley’s principle of contextual meaning the account of communication must relate not individual ideas to individual words but strings of ideas to strings of words. Words and ideas, moreover, are not isomorphic as Locke implies they are: Berkeley indicates in particular the cases of general terms and names for spiritual substances, for neither of which Corresponding ideas can be discovered. To accommodate such cases within the general theory that meaning depends upon corresponding ideas an encoding process must be introduced into the account of the verbal transmission of ideas, a process whereby verbal structures including such terms as universals and names for spirits can be related to different ideational structures in which no such terms appear. The conclusion is that Berkeley accepts from Locke the fundamental principle that meaning depends upon corresponding ideas in the mind but that he holds this relation of correspondence to be much more complex than Locke allowed: in particular Berkeley introduces structural considerations by abandoning the traditional view that words and ideas correspond on a one-to-one basis, and he requires the mind to perform certain interpretative encoding procedures in translating between verbal and ideational structures.


1981 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Edelmann ◽  
Sarah E. Hampson

The effect of embarrassment upon dyadic interaction was studied in a semi-naturalistic setting. Subject pairs participated in an alternating question and answer session at one of two interactional distances (1 or 2 in), utilizing questions which increased in their intimacy content. A control group who had only non-intimate questions was also investigated. It was found that topic intimacy, but not interactional distance affected the embarrassment potential of the situation. Increases in embarrassment caused typical changes in nonverbal behavior (decreased eye contact, increased gestural activity, and increased smiling) for both pair members while speaking and listening, and also an increase in speech disturbances. Also, as embarrassment increased mutual gaze decreased, whilst mutual disregard and reciprocated body motion increased; reciprocated looking and reciprocated smiling were not affected. Increases in embarrassment did not affect the amount of self-disclosure for each individual, although verbal output was suppressed relative to the control group. Significant reciprocation of self-disclosure occurred in less than one-third of the interacting pairs. The possibility of evolving coping strategies for embarrassment are discussed in the light of the results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendry F. Chame ◽  
Ahmadreza Ahmadi ◽  
Jun Tani

Interdisciplinary efforts from developmental psychology, phenomenology, and philosophy of mind, have studied the rudiments of social cognition and conceptualized distinct forms of intersubjective communication and interaction at human early life. Interaction theorists consider primary intersubjectivity a non-mentalist, pre-theoretical, non-conceptual sort of processes that ground a certain level of communication and understanding, and provide support to higher-level cognitive skills. We argue the study of human/neurorobot interaction consists in a unique opportunity to deepen understanding of underlying mechanisms in social cognition through synthetic modeling, while allowing to examine a second person experiential (2PP) access to intersubjectivity in embodied dyadic interaction. Concretely, we propose the study of primary intersubjectivity as a 2PP experience characterized by predictive engagement, where perception, cognition, and action are accounted for an hermeneutic circle in dyadic interaction. From our interpretation of the concept of active inference in free-energy principle theory, we propose an open-source methodology named neural robotics library (NRL) for experimental human/neurorobot interaction, wherein a demonstration program named virtual Cartesian robot (VCBot) provides an opportunity to experience the aforementioned embodied interaction to general audiences. Lastly, through a study case, we discuss some ways human-robot primary intersubjectivity can contribute to cognitive science research, such as to the fields of developmental psychology, educational technology, and cognitive rehabilitation.


Author(s):  
Shevaun D. Neupert ◽  
Jennifer A. Bellingtier

Daily diary designs allow researchers to examine processes that change together on a daily basis, often in a naturalistic setting. By studying within-person covariation between daily processes, one can more precisely establish the short-term effects and temporal ordering of concrete daily experiences. Additionally, the daily diary design reduces retrospective recall bias because participants are asked to recall events that occurred over the previous 24-hour period as opposed to a week or even a year. Therefore, a more accurate picture of individuals’ daily lives can be captured with this design. When conclusions are drawn between people about the relationship between the predictors and outcomes, the covariation that occurs within people through time is lost. In a within-person design, conclusions can be made about the simultaneous effects of within-person covariation as well as between-person differences. This is especially important when many interindividual differences (e.g., traits) may exist in within-person relationships (e.g., states). Daily diary research can take many forms. Diary research can be conducted with printed paper questionnaires, divided into daily booklets where participants mail back each daily booklet at the end of the day or entire study period. Previous studies have called participants on the telephone to respond to interview questions each day for a series of consecutive days, allowing for quantitative as well as qualitative data collection. Online surveys that can be completed on a computer or mobile device allow the researcher to know the specific day and time that the survey was completed while minimizing direct involvement with the collection of each daily survey. There are many opportunities for lifespan developmental researchers to adopt daily diary designs across a variety of implementation platforms to address questions of important daily processes. The benefits and drawbacks of each method along with suggestions for future work are discussed, noting issues of particular importance for aging and lifespan development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Van Bergen ◽  
John Sutton

Abstract Sociocultural developmental psychology can drive new directions in gadgetry science. We use autobiographical memory, a compound capacity incorporating episodic memory, as a case study. Autobiographical memory emerges late in development, supported by interactions with parents. Intervention research highlights the causal influence of these interactions, whereas cross-cultural research demonstrates culturally determined diversity. Different patterns of inheritance are discussed.


GeroPsych ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Marie Kessler ◽  
Catherine E. Bowen

Both psychotherapists and their clients have mental representations of old age and the aging process. In this conceptual review, we draw on available research from gerontology, social and developmental psychology, and communication science to consider how these “images of aging” may affect the psychotherapeutic process with older clients. On the basis of selected empirical findings we hypothesize that such images may affect the pathways to psychotherapy in later life, therapist-client communication, client performance on diagnostic tests as well as how therapists select and apply a therapeutic method. We posit that interventions to help both older clients and therapists to reflect on their own images of aging may increase the likelihood of successful treatment. We conclude by making suggestions for future research.


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