Media release

From: The Royal Society

Sob story - Social bonding through shared experiences: the role of emotional intensity

Sharing emotions with others is common and strengthens social bonds. This study explored if social bonding requires people to experience intense emotions, similar emotions, or both. Pairs of strangers were invited to watch emotional videos together. Researchers measured how participants felt in response to the videos, how they physiologically responded, and how they felt toward each other. When participants could see each other during the videos, the stronger their physiological responses, the more connected they felt. The study shows that intense emotions can foster social bonding, whereas having similar and synchronized emotions is not necessary.

• Sob story – Sharing a cry over a sad film could increase your connection with someone. Researchers showed pairs of strangers the same set of videos and monitored their physiological and emotional responses, as well as how they felt towards each other. People felt more connected when they could see each other whilst watching the videos, and when they were both experiencing strong emotions, regardless of whether they were positive or negative. Royal Society Open Science