Interpersonal attunement in social interactions: from collective psychophysiology to inter-personalized psychiatry and beyond.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences February 13, 2023 Dimitris Bolis, Guillaume Dumas, Leonhard Schilbach 71 citations
Social interactions rely on interpersonal attunement, a multi-scale process of building and materializing social expectations. While common ground is cultivated through communication and culture, the mechanisms involved have often been studied in isolation. Collective psychophysiology can analyze social interactions without neglecting the individual. Mismatched expectations can break communication and lead to social isolation, negatively affecting mental health. Psychiatric disorders can be understood as disorders of social interaction, or interpersonal misattunement. This suggests an inter-personalized psychiatry that moves from a static disorder spectrum to a dynamic relational space, focusing on how social interaction promotes mental health.