Whether it's in performing arts, sports, or just daily life, we often enjoy watching people move in sync with each other. We tend to enjoy these synchronized movements even more if we've done similar movements ourselves in the past, which is called "embodied experience." While it's clear that we enjoy synchronized movements and that our own experience with those movements adds to that enjoyment, the connection between these factors isn't fully understood yet. Understanding this could help improve social interactions.
To explore this, researchers asked people to copy someone else's movements as closely as possible. Afterward, these participants watched pairs of people moving together, either performing the same or different movements. The researchers wanted to see how well participants recognized the movements they had done and how much they enjoyed watching them. They also used a brain imaging technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure brain activity while participants were doing and watching the movements.
The study found that people enjoyed the movements most when they recognized a sequence they had previously mirrored themselves. This suggests that being aware of our own past movements might be key to enjoying synchronized movements. The research also found that certain areas of the brain involved in watching actions and processing aesthetics (how we perceive beauty) were active when participants enjoyed and recognized movements. These findings could be useful in developing therapies to improve social interactions.
Publication
Awareness of embodiment enhances enjoyment and engages sensorimotor cortices. Moffat R, Cross ES. Hum Brain Mapp. 2024 Jul 15;45(10):e26786. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26786. PMID: 38994692