Sharing Happy Stories Increases Interpersonal Closeness: Interpersonal Brain Synchronization as a Neural Indicator

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Communication Studies

Background:

• Emotional storytelling is fundamental to human connection, influencing shared understanding and neural alignment between individuals.
• The Emotions as Social Information (EASI) model posits that emotional communication impacts interpersonal closeness, yet empirical evidence on neural synchronization during such interactions is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate speaker-listener interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) during the communication of emotional stories (happy, sad, neutral).
• To examine the association between IBS and interpersonal closeness following emotional story sharing.
• To determine if IBS can predict the degree of interpersonal closeness.

Main Methods:

• One speaker communicated emotional video content (happy, sad, neutral) to 32 listeners.
• Speaker and listener neural activity were recorded using electroencephalography (EEG).
• Interpersonal closeness was assessed post-communication; IBS was analyzed in relation to story valence and closeness ratings.

Main Results:

• Sharing happy stories led to better recall and higher interpersonal closeness compared to sad stories.
• The happy group exhibited greater IBS in the frontal and left temporoparietal cortex than the sad group.
• Frontal IBS moderated the relationship between story valence (happy/sad) and interpersonal closeness; IBS predicted closeness ratings.

Conclusions:

• Frontal IBS serves as a neural indicator of how sharing emotional stories influences interpersonal closeness.
• Happy emotional communication enhances both neural synchronization and interpersonal bonding more effectively than sad communication.
• Findings advance the understanding of emotional communication's role in interpersonal dynamics and relationship building.