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Updated: Jul 27, 2025

Group Synchronization During Collaborative Drawing Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: August 5, 2022
Social and nonlinear dynamics unite: musical group synchrony
Alexander P Demos1, Caroline Palmer2
1Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago, 1007 W Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, USA.
None:
Synchronization, the human tendency to align behaviors in time with others, is necessary for many survival skills. The ability to synchronize actions with rhythmic (predictable) sound patterns is especially well developed in music making. Recent models of synchrony in musical ensembles rely on pairwise comparisons between group members. This pairwise approach to synchrony has hampered theory development, given current findings from social dynamics indicating shifts in members' influence within larger groups. We draw on social theory and nonlinear dynamics to argue that emergent properties and novel roles arise in musical group synchrony that differ from individual or pairwise behaviors. This transformational shift in defining synchrony sheds light on successful outcomes as well as on disruptions that cause negative behavioral outcomes.
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