An individual-specific understanding of how synchrony becomes curative: study protocol

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Interpersonal Dynamics

Background:

• Interpersonal interactions significantly influence mental health, yet the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.
• Existing research often assumes higher synchrony is universally beneficial, overlooking individual differences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically test the novel concept of an individual-specific synchrony signature.
• To investigate if tailored synchrony adjustments, based on individual signatures, can facilitate therapeutic change.

Main Methods:

• Study 1 utilized the Synchrony Interaction Paradigm to identify individual synchrony signatures in 68 participants, including those with major depressive disorder (MDD).
• Study 2 employed a randomized controlled trial with 78 MDD patients to assess if tailored signature adjustments promote therapeutic change.
• Multimodal markers (motion, acoustic, physiological, hormonal, facial expressions) were used to differentiate stable synchrony traits from real-time interaction deviations.

Main Results:

• The existence and characteristics of individual-specific synchrony signatures were investigated.
• The research aims to demonstrate how personalized synchrony adjustments can lead to therapeutic improvements in MDD patients.

Conclusions:

• This research redefines synchrony as an individual-specific mechanism for change, highlighting its multimodal nature.
• Findings advance a personalized framework for understanding synchrony's impact on mental health and inform targeted therapeutic interventions.