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Interpersonal Fluency: Toward a Model of Coordination and Affect in Social Relations

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Complex Human Dynamics

Part of the book series: Understanding Complex Systems ((UCS))

Abstract

This chapter investigates the role of interpersonal coordination in promoting positive affect in social interaction. We propose that coordination in the successful pursuit of a goal increases positive affect which in turn strengthens those social ties for maintaining relationships that are characteristic of effective coordination. In two experiments, participants performed a virtual task on a computer in tandem with a virtual co-actor, whose behavior was generated by a computer program. In Experiment 1, successful performance on a complex task required behavior coordination. In Experiment 2, behavioral coordination was manipulated independently of successful performance. Results showed that behavioral coordination promotes liking (Experiment 1) and that this effect is manifest under success but not failure (Experiment 2). Discussion centers on the adaptive value of behavioral and emotional coordination, the link between coordination and other psychological processes, and the conditions that promote rather than hinder the attainment of such interaction fluency.

The research was supported in part by grant 1 H01F 035 27, NN106 220138 and a Mobility Plus grant 644/MOB/2011/0, from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and a grant from the Future and Emerging Technologies programme FP7-COSI-ICT of the European Commission through project ICT Collectives. We thank Wieslaw Bartkowski for his help in writing the computer programs employed in Experiment 2.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For example: Baron et al. (1994), Bernieri et al. (1988), Condon (1982), Condon and Ogston (1966), Decéty and Chaminade (2003), Dijksterhuis and Bargh (2001), Harakeh et al. (2007), Kendon (1970), LaFrance (1979), Lankin et al. (2003), Marsh et al. (2006), Newtson (1994), Nowak et al. (2002), Schmidt et al. (1990), Shockley et al. (2003), Wilson and Knoblich (2005).

  2. 2.

    Originally presented in: Kulesza and Nowak (2003). Here we have recalculated gathered data and recapitulated findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Chodakowska 19/31, Warsaw, 03-815, Poland

    Wojciech Kulesza

  2. Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Glades Rd. 777, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA

    Robin R. Vallacher

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7, 00183, Warsaw, Poland

    Andrzej Nowak

Authors
  1. Wojciech Kulesza
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  2. Robin R. Vallacher
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  3. Andrzej Nowak
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wojciech Kulesza .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7, Warsaw, 00183, Poland

    Andrzej Nowak

  2. Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Hum, Chodakowska Street 19/13, Warsaw, 03815, Poland

    Katarzyna Winkowska-Nowak

  3. Institute for Social Studies, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7, Warsaw, 00183, Poland

    David Brée

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Kulesza, W., Vallacher, R.R., Nowak, A. (2013). Interpersonal Fluency: Toward a Model of Coordination and Affect in Social Relations. In: Nowak, A., Winkowska-Nowak, K., Brée, D. (eds) Complex Human Dynamics. Understanding Complex Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31436-0_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31436-0_10

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