Presentation Information
[P2-25]Effects of Network Topology and Goals on Interpersonal Synchronization in a Virtual ‘Rhythm Network’
*Jonathan Kirsh1, Sharanya Badalera1, John Rehner Iversen1 (1. McMaster University (Canada))
Keywords:
Group Synchronization,Drum Circle,Network Topology,Simulation
Drum circles provide a rich context for investigating interpersonal coordination and group timing dynamics. In real-world drum circles all participants can generally hear each other, enhancing group-level cooperative synchrony as group size increases (Dotov et al., 2022, eLife). But how does group synchronization behave in uncooperative, or reduced-information situations? We have developed a virtual drum circle paradigm to explore such challenging contexts, hypothesizing that individuals will display more diverse strategies when so challenged. In two pilot drum circles (N=6) we contrasted group synchronization in three conditions: all-all network topology with goals either to 1) maximize synchronization (all-sync) or 2) maximize desynchronization (all-desync), and 3) a ring topology with impoverished information flow across the group (ring-sync), which we hypothesize will force each individual to rely on an imagined collective goal and reveal different capacities to manage frustration with a seemingly uncooperative partner. In all-sync, the group successfully achieved high synchrony (Kuramoto order parameter r≈1), though, as often observed, with an acceleration of tempo. In all-desync, the order parameter remained between 0.25 and 0.5, suggesting difficulty in fully decoupling from one another. In ring-sync, each participant hears only their left neighbor, so any coordination occurs with a large delay, mediated through the entire group. This topology inverts traditional assumptions, predicting that group synchrony degrades as group size increases. For N=6 we observed dynamic behavior, with surprising periods of complete synchrony (r≈1) alternating with deep desynchronization (r < 0.2), suggesting that participants may rely on internal models of group intention. This flexible virtual ‘Rhythm Network’ paradigm offers possibilities to test models of group synchronization in extreme behavioral regimes and lays the foundation for future studies of inter-brain synchrony.