Positive emotional synchrony and intimacy satisfaction: evidence from a multidimensional assessment

Emotional synchrony, as an expression of emotional coordination and coherence, is an important indicator of the quality of intimate relationships. However, few studies have systematically examined valence-related differences in emotional synchrony and their implications for relationship satisfaction, and multidimensional evidence remains limited. In the present research, we employed a multidimensional assessment approach that combined behavioural coding, self-reports, and electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning to examine the predictive role of emotional synchrony in relationship satisfaction and the mediating role of self-other overlap during actual interactions. Study 1 revealed that positive emotions played a dominant role in emotional synchrony and directly and positively predicted males' intimacy satisfaction, with self-other overlap serving as a partial mediator. Using self-reports and EEG, Study 2 revealed that emotional synchrony/interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) directly and positively predicted intimacy satisfaction in men, whereas its effect on women's intimacy satisfaction was fully mediated by self-other overlap. In summary, positive emotional synchrony positively predicts intimacy satisfaction, which provides empirical support for the understanding of the behavioural and neural mechanisms underlying emotional synchrony.