Group synchrony and pain: investigating the interplay between social bonding and affective states

Abstract

Group synchrony is a hallmark of social interactions associated with positive socio-affective outcomes, including reduced pain sensation. While prior research investigated the impact of group synchrony on pain, highlighting the mediating role of social bonding, the influence of pain and its anticipation on group synchrony remains unclear. Two experiments investigated not only the impact of synchrony on pain, affective states and social bonding but also the reciprocal impact of pain on all those variables. In both studies, synchrony enhanced social bonding but did not consistently reduce pain, and pain did not disrupt synchrony despite altering affective states. Experiment 1 showed that pain tended to increase social bonding and emotional arousal, suggesting that the emotional component of pain functions as a social glue. Experiment 2 also demonstrated that the anticipation of pain affected heart rates, mirroring patterns in chronic pain populations. Importantly, in both studies, the sense of ‘worthwhileness’ emerged as a critical factor influencing individual contribution to synchronization and pain perception. Altogether, these results suggest that group synchrony is resilient to painful perturbations and stress the role of self-esteem in mediating the impact of synchrony on pain, paving the way for therapeutic interventions harnessing the benefits of collective motion.