Behavioral and Judged Coordination in Adult Informal Social Interactions: Vocal and Kinesic Indicators

Coordination in social interaction means that persons adjust their actions to those of their partners. Common methods for measuring coordination include judgments and behavioral covariation. Sixteen 1-min segments of interaction were chosen (8 high and 8 low in behavioral coordination). In Study 1, 51 people judged the 16 segments, rating each for coordination. Study 2 (N = 17) used different items. Study 3 (N = 22) replicated Study 2 without sound and with a mosaic pattern imposed on the faces. Results indicated judges were reliable, able to distinguish high from low coordination interactions on the basis of 1-min slices for male but not female dyads. Segments judged to be coordinated had partners smiling in synchrony but with complementary patterns of gazing and gesturing. Both measures correlated with conversational satisfaction, but only behavioral coordination predicted attraction.