Interpersonal synchrony serves as a subtle, yet powerful bonding mechanism in social interactions. Problematically, the term ‘synchrony’ has been used to label a variety of distinct aspects of interpersonal coordination, such as postural similarities or movement activity entrainment. Accordingly, different algorithms have been suggested to quantify interpersonal synchrony. Yet, it remains unknown whether the different measures of synchrony represent correlated features of the same perceivable core phenomenon. The current study addresses this by comparing the suitability of a set of algorithms with respect to their association with observers’ judgments of dyadic synchrony and leader-followership. One-hundred fifteen observers viewed computer animations of characters portraying the movements of real dyads who performed a repetitive motor task with instruction to move in unison. Animations were based on full-body motion capture data synchronously collected for both partners during the joint exercise. Results showed most synchrony measures significantly correlated with (a) perceived synchrony and (b) the perceived level of balance of leading/following by each dyad member. Phase synchrony and Pearson correlations were associated most strongly with the observer ratings. This might be typical for intentional, structured forms synchrony such as ritualized group activities. It remains open if these findings also apply to spontaneous forms of synchrony as, for instance, occurring in free-running conversations.

人际同步是社交互动中一种微妙而强大的联系机制。有问题的是，“同步”一词已被用来标记人际协调的各种不同方面，例如姿势相似性或运动活动夹带。因此，已经提出了不同的算法来量化人际同步。然而，目前尚不清楚不同的同步测量是否代表同一可感知核心现象的相关特征。目前的研究通过比较一组算法与观察者对二元同步和领导者-追随者判断的关联的适用性来解决这个问题。115 名观察者观看了描绘真实双人动作的电脑动画，他们执行重复的运动任务并指示一致移动。动画基于在联合演习期间为双方同步收集的全身动作捕捉数据。结果表明，大多数同步测量与（a）感知同步和（b）每个二元成员的领先/跟随平衡水平显着相关。相位同步和皮尔逊相关性与观察者评级的相关性最强。这对于有意的、结构化的形式同步（例如仪式化的团体活动）来说可能是典型的。如果这些发现也适用于自发形式的同步，例如发生在自由运行的对话中，它仍然是开放的。动画基于在联合演习期间为双方同步收集的全身动作捕捉数据。结果表明，大多数同步测量与（a）感知同步和（b）每个二元成员的领先/跟随平衡水平显着相关。相位同步和皮尔逊相关性与观察者评级的相关性最强。这对于有意的、结构化的形式同步（例如仪式化的团体活动）来说可能是典型的。如果这些发现也适用于自发形式的同步，例如发生在自由运行的对话中，它仍然是开放的。动画基于在联合演习期间为双方同步收集的全身动作捕捉数据。结果表明，大多数同步测量与（a）感知同步和（b）每个二元成员的领先/跟随平衡水平显着相关。相位同步和皮尔逊相关性与观察者评级的相关性最强。这对于有意的、结构化的形式同步（例如仪式化的团体活动）来说可能是典型的。如果这些发现也适用于自发形式的同步，例如发生在自由运行的对话中，它仍然是开放的。结果表明，大多数同步测量与（a）感知同步和（b）每个二元成员的领先/跟随平衡水平显着相关。相位同步和皮尔逊相关性与观察者评级的相关性最强。这对于有意的、结构化的形式同步（例如仪式化的团体活动）来说可能是典型的。如果这些发现也适用于自发形式的同步，例如发生在自由运行的对话中，它仍然是开放的。结果表明，大多数同步测量与（a）感知同步和（b）每个二元成员的领先/跟随平衡水平显着相关。相位同步和皮尔逊相关性与观察者评级的相关性最强。这对于有意的、结构化的形式同步（例如仪式化的团体活动）来说可能是典型的。如果这些发现也适用于自发形式的同步，例如发生在自由运行的对话中，它仍然是开放的。