Friends in Sync? Examining the Relationship Between the Degree of Nonverbal Synchrony, Friendship Satisfaction and Support

Nonverbal synchrony (NVS), the degree of spontaneous coordination of movements among dyads, has been associated with important social outcomes among romantic and stranger dyads, including the degree of social affiliation. Recently, automated methods, such as Motion Energy Analysis (MEA), have been used to objectively measure NVS. In this study, we examined MEA-quantified NVS among 143 friend dyads and its association with friendship satisfaction, closeness, and support. Friend dyads engaged in two conversations about a problem one friend was experiencing and took turns generating problems. Half the dyads were randomized to a co-rumination condition, where they were given instructions that prompted co-rumination, or a natural condition, where they were prompted to speak about the problem as they naturally would. Friendship satisfaction was measured at baseline while friendship support was measured at baseline and following each conversation using self-report scales. NVS was significantly present above chance during the task, but for each conversation, levels of NVS were not (a) predicted by the degree of friendship satisfaction or support, or (b) predictive of the degree of post-conversation friendship support. Furthermore, exploratory analyses revealed that for individuals who rated their dyad partner as a friend versus a close friend, greater synchrony trended toward predicting lower friendship support during the second conversation. Overall, this study demonstrates that an automated assessment of movement was able to detect NVS among friend dyads during a problem-focused discussion, but raises questions about the role that NVS plays among friends in this context.