Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Interpersonal synchrony is a foundation of social interaction. However, as a form of coordination, synchrony is limited to regular, rhythmic actions. As such, research regarding the relationship between synchrony and social factors may not generalise to other forms of interpersonal behaviour. Here, we explored whether factors known to influence synchrony, also impact a complimentary form of coordination, complexity matching. When people interact, complex patterns of variability inherent to their individual behaviour can become more similar (i.e., more coordinated). In pairs, participants completed four walking trials that manipulated social interdependence while their gait patterns were captured. We also measured subclinical levels of social anxiety. Although data collection is ongoing, the results point to social anxiety having a detrimental effect on individual behavioural variability, and in turn, complexity matching. Effects of the interdependence manipulation were also evident, but await further data. These results are discussed with respect to theories of interpersonal dynamics.