Page 147 - Demo

145IIC in pair-bonding8AbstractInter-individual coordination (IIC) at the behavioral and physiological level,and its association with courtship and pair-bond maintenance, have been re,ceiving increased attention in the scientific literature in recent years. How,ever, there is no integrative framework combining the plethora of findings inhumans and nonhuman species yet that addresses the evolutionary originsof IIC. Here, we take a comparative approach and review findings on thelink between IIC and pair-bond formation, maintenance, and bi-parentalcare. Our review suggests that across socially monogamous species, IIC –at a behavioral and physiological level – is correlated with the likelihoodof forming and retaining a pair-bond, and with reproductive success. Weexpand on the pair-bonding hypothesis by stating that higher levels of IICmight be beneficial for relationship quality and bi-parental care and, as aresult, might also become a preferred trait in the formation and mainte,nance of a pair-bond. We further discuss the key questions to disentanglethe evolution of IIC based on this hypothesis.Based on:Samara, I., Roth, T. S., Tan, J., Prochazkova, E., & Kret, M. E.(2021). A comparative framework of inter-individual coordination andpair-bonding. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 39, 98-105.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.03.005AbstractInter-individual coordination (IIC) at the behavioral and physiological level,and its association with courtship and pair-bond maintenance, have been re,ceiving increased attention in the scientific literature in recent years. How,ever, there is no integrative framework combining the plethora of findings inhumans and nonhuman species yet that addresses the evolutionary originsof IIC. Here, we take a comparative approach and review findings on thelink between IIC and pair-bond formation, maintenance, and bi-parentalcare. Our review suggests that across socially monogamous species, IIC –at a behavioral and physiological level – is correlated with the likelihoodof forming and retaining a pair-bond, and with reproductive success. Weexpand on the pair-bonding hypothesis by stating that higher levels of IICmight be beneficial for relationship quality and bi-parental care and, as aresult, might also become a preferred trait in the formation and mainte,nance of a pair-bond. We further discuss the key questions to disentanglethe evolution of IIC based on this hypothesis.Based on:Samara, I., Roth, T. S., Tan, J., Prochazkova, E., & Kret, M. E.(2021). A comparative framework of inter-individual coordination andpair-bonding. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 39, 98-105.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.03.005IntroductionHuman pair-bonding is characterized by a deeply emotional long-term bond3. Spending time with a significant other is associated with feelings of happiness (Flood & Genadek, 2016), especially in committed relationships (Hudson, Lucas, & Donnellan, 2020). Such positive affect is an important characteristic of romantic bonds in humans, as it likely promotes the ultimatefunction of such bonds: motivating both parents to jointly care for theiroffspring (Finkel & Eastwick, 2015). However, the characteristics of a successful pair-bond and the fundamental prerequisites for successfully raisingoffspring remain not well understood. Nonetheless, the ultimate challengesfaced by all species exhibiting bi-parental care are similar: raising and caringfor their offspring, and crucially, dividing the tasks necessary for this goal. Inthis review, we outline a mechanism that might underlie successful relationship initiation, maintenance, and bi-parental care, namely inter-individualcoordination (IIC). We present evidence suggesting that relationships thatare or have the potential to be long-lasting might be characterized by IIC atboth behavioral and physiological level, and that this pattern might extendto non-human species as well.IIC refers to the behavioral and physiological linkage between two ormore individuals (Mayo & Gordon, 2020), and encompasses mimicry, synchrony (Prochazkova & Kret, 2017), and complementary action (Skewes,Skewes, Michael, & Konvalinka, 2015)4. Thus, while behavioral linkagemostly manifests itself externally (e.g., body posture), physiological linkageis mostly associated with co-activation and regulation of internal processes(e.g., autonomic nervous system responses). In this review, we define IICas the co-variation of behavioral and physiological responses between twoindividuals that share a common goal. For example, while on a first date wefeel nervous yet see our potential partner smiling, we might smile back andexperience a decrease in nervousness and increase in happiness. In otherwords, we might coordinate with the person opposite of us both on a behavioral and physiological level. Figure 1 depicts how IIC is associated withdifferent aspects of pair-bonding. For example, IIC facilitates bond formation in humans (Launay, Tarr, & Dunbar, 2016), and results in effectivecooperation (Behrens et al., 2020; Duranton & Gaunet, 2016), a relevantcomponent of bi-parental care. Accordingly, human courtship is stronglyassociated with IIC (Grammer et al., 1998) and IIC has been implicated in3Here pair-bonding is not restricted to an exclusive assortment between one male andone female (e.g., social monogamy in cross-species research or monogamous marriage arrangement in human societies). Pair-bonds can refer to any lasting reproductive relationship between two individuals, including those in polyandrous and polygynous relationships(Rooker & Gavrilets, 2021) 4it should be noted that physiology and behavior are not independent, but ratherembedded in a continuous feedback loop, where one level informs the other (Mayo &Gordon, 2020)Iliana Samara 17x24.indd 145 08-04-2024 16:36