Theater practice and interpersonal synchronization behaviors: a pilot study comparing actors and non-actors

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Theater Studies
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Contemporary theater studies emphasize the dynamic relationship between actors and spectators.
• Cognitive science perspectives suggest imagination arises from this actor-spectator dynamic.
• Embodied and situated cognition frameworks are increasingly applied to understanding social interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if acting practice improves interpersonal relationship management.
• To determine if actors better manage their own emotions and their partner's emotions.
• To explore the link between acting experience, sense of presence, and perceived entitativity.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-two healthy Italian adults (43 actors, 39 non-actors) participated.
• Participants completed a joint verbal production task (Random Sequence Generation - RSG) individually and in pairs.
• Post-task questionnaires assessed sense of presence and perceived entitativity with partners.

Main Results:

• Paired performance showed higher RSG scores and reduced repetition, indicating synchronization.
• Sense of presence was positively correlated between partners.
• Actors reported higher perceived entitativity with partners at heightened sense of presence, unlike non-actors.

Conclusions:

• Acting practice may cultivate a dual-task ability, enabling better organization of actions and emotions during social connection.
• This study highlights the interdisciplinary value of combining theater studies and cognitive sciences.
• Findings suggest acting enhances social cognition and emotional regulation in interpersonal contexts.