Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
Center for Educational Development, Aarhus University, Trøjborgvej 82-84, 8000, AarhusC, Denmark.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 24;14(1):19666. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69678-9.
Theories of embodied cognition suggest that a shared environment and ongoing sensorimotor interaction are central for interpersonal learning and engagement. To investigate the embodied, distributed and hence dynamically unfolding nature of social cognitive capacities, we present a novel laboratory-based coordination task: the BallGame. Our paradigm requires continuous sensing and acting between two players who jointly steer a virtual ball around obstacles towards as many targets as possible. By analysing highly resolved measures of movement coordination and gaming behaviour, game-concurrent experience ratings, semi-structured interviews, and personality questionnaires, we reveal contributions from different levels of observation on social experience. In particular, successful coordination (number of targets collected) and intermittent periods of high versus low movement coordination (variability of relation) emerged as prominent predictors of social experience. Importantly, having the same (but incomplete) view on the game environment strengthened interpersonal coordination, whereas complementary views enhanced engagement and tended to generate more complex interactive behaviour. Overall, we find evidence for a critical balance between similarity and synchrony on the one hand, and variability and difference on the other, for successful engagement in social interactions. Finally, following participant reports, we highlight how interpersonal experience emerges from specific histories of coordination that are closely related to the interaction context in both space and time.
具身认知理论认为，共同的环境和持续的感觉运动互动对于人际学习和参与至关重要。为了研究社会认知能力的具身性、分布式和动态展开的本质，我们提出了一个新的基于实验室的协调任务：BallGame。我们的范式要求两个玩家之间进行连续的感知和行动，他们共同引导一个虚拟球绕过障碍物，尽可能多地击中目标。通过分析运动协调和游戏行为的高度解析度量、游戏并发体验评分、半结构化访谈和人格问卷，我们揭示了不同层次的观察对社会经验的贡献。特别是，成功的协调（收集的目标数量）和高与低运动协调之间的间歇性周期（关系的可变性）成为社会经验的突出预测因素。重要的是，对游戏环境有相同（但不完整）的看法会加强人际协调，而互补的观点会增强参与度，并倾向于产生更复杂的互动行为。总的来说，我们发现，在成功参与社交互动方面，相似性和同步性与可变性和差异性之间存在着一种关键的平衡。最后，根据参与者的报告，我们强调了人际体验如何从与空间和时间上的互动背景密切相关的具体协调历史中出现。
