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178Chapter 10mimicry promotes the formation of social bonds because people evaluate asynchronous interaction more positively than an asynchronous one, duringwhich they might feel uneasy (Pfaus, Zakreski, & Safron, 2022). Disentangling the different processes that underlie this intricate relationship wouldbenefit the literature. Thus, future work should focus on detailing cognitive models illustrating the mechanisms underlying coordination and bondformation.In our review, we outlined evidence showing that in serially monogamousbirds, the IIC between parents likely influences the couple’s reproductivesuccess. For example, zebra finch couples that picked their mate exhibitedmore behavioral coordination and were more successful and produced morefledglings than pairs that were formed by the researchers (Ihle et al., 2015).A few studies illustrate that hormonal synchrony between parents might facilitate parental investment (Saxbe et al., 2017); however, the relationshipbetween IIC, reproduction, and child-rearing remains under-investigated inhumans. Future research should aim to conduct longitudinal studies investigating how the IIC between parents might influence reproductive successand child-rearing.Future research can employ experimental tasks to advance our understanding of the relationship between attention, social cognition, and interindividual coordination in romantic bond formation. One potential taskis the imitation-inhibition task, which has been used to study automaticimitation (Brass, Bekkering, Wohlschläger, & Prinz, 2000; Brass, Derrfuss,Matthes-von Cramon, & von Cramon, 2003). In this task, participants arerequired to perform a movement while watching a video of a person performing a movement that is either congruent (same) or incongruent (different)with the movement they were instructed to perform. Previous research hasshown that participants tend to respond slower and make more errors in theincongruent condition, indicating that imitation of the observed behavioris automatic. Future studies could examine how participants’ idiosyncraticattractiveness ratings of the presented stimuli influence their performanceon the incongruent condition of the imitation-inhibition task. Eye-trackingmeasures could also be incorporated to investigate how these attractiveness ratings influence participants’ attentional dwell, and whether attractivefaces are prioritized over changes in movements. Finally, participants couldbe asked to rate the trustworthiness, intelligence, and dominance of the people in the stimuli, which would allow for an examination of how attraction,inter-individual coordination, and social cognition interact.The use of big data is prevalent in psychology and can also be used inromantic decision-making. In Chapter 3, we showed that fixations in aneye-tracking task could be used to predict dating choices in a speed-datingstudy. Specifically, the more people preferentially attended to a person’simage, the more likely they were to indicate later that they would like tomeet them again. In other words, the findings of the present dissertationsuggest that attraction to another can be detected by implicit processes, suchas increased attentional dwell. Therefore, in popular dating apps, such asTinder, decisions about a potential romantic partner could be taken usingnot necessarily explicit choices but rather implicit processes, such as theduration of viewing a person’s profile. Whether this addition to dating appsreliably predicts initial attraction and date success would have to be furtherexamined. However, such an approach would be a valuable first step ingetting more insight into the intricate interplay between attention, implicitprocesses, and dating choices.ConclusionIn conclusion, the findings of my dissertation illustrate that when people areattracted to someone, they are more likely to focus on them as their attention narrows down to the potential partner. People are also more likely toperceive a person they find attractive in a more biased way, which increasesthe chance that they approach them. Finally, when they approach them,they are more likely to mimic them, thus increasing their chances of gettinganother date. Altogether, my findings contribute to our understanding ofhow attraction influences social interactions and relationships.mimicry promotes the formation of social bonds because people evaluate asynchronous interaction more positively than an asynchronous one, duringwhich they might feel uneasy (Pfaus, Zakreski, & Safron, 2022). Disentangling the different processes that underlie this intricate relationship wouldbenefit the literature. Thus, future work should focus on detailing cognitive models illustrating the mechanisms underlying coordination and bondformation.In our review, we outlined evidence showing that in serially monogamousbirds, the IIC between parents likely influences the couple’s reproductivesuccess. For example, zebra finch couples that picked their mate exhibitedmore behavioral coordination and were more successful and produced morefledglings than pairs that were formed by the researchers (Ihle et al., 2015).A few studies illustrate that hormonal synchrony between parents might facilitate parental investment (Saxbe et al., 2017); however, the relationshipbetween IIC, reproduction, and child-rearing remains under-investigated inhumans. Future research should aim to conduct longitudinal studies investigating how the IIC between parents might influence reproductive successand child-rearing.Future research can employ experimental tasks to advance our understanding of the relationship between attention, social cognition, and interindividual coordination in romantic bond formation. One potential taskis the imitation-inhibition task, which has been used to study automaticimitation (Brass, Bekkering, Wohlschläger, & Prinz, 2000; Brass, Derrfuss,Matthes-von Cramon, & von Cramon, 2003). In this task, participants arerequired to perform a movement while watching a video of a person performing a movement that is either congruent (same) or incongruent (different)with the movement they were instructed to perform. Previous research hasshown that participants tend to respond slower and make more errors in theincongruent condition, indicating that imitation of the observed behavioris automatic. Future studies could examine how participants’ idiosyncraticattractiveness ratings of the presented stimuli influence their performanceon the incongruent condition of the imitation-inhibition task. Eye-trackingmeasures could also be incorporated to investigate how these attractiveness ratings influence participants’ attentional dwell, and whether attractivefaces are prioritized over changes in movements. Finally, participants couldbe asked to rate the trustworthiness, intelligence, and dominance of the people in the stimuli, which would allow for an examination of how attraction,inter-individual coordination, and social cognition interact.The use of big data is prevalent in psychology and can also be used inromantic decision-making. In Chapter 3, we showed that fixations in aneye-tracking task could be used to predict dating choices in a speed-datingstudy. Specifically, the more people preferentially attended to a person’simage, the more likely they were to indicate later that they would like tomeet them again. In other words, the findings of the present dissertationsuggest that attraction to another can be detected by implicit processes, suchas increased attentional dwell. Therefore, in popular dating apps, such asTinder, decisions about a potential romantic partner could be taken usingnot necessarily explicit choices but rather implicit processes, such as theduration of viewing a person’s profile. Whether this addition to dating appsreliably predicts initial attraction and date success would have to be furtherexamined. However, such an approach would be a valuable first step ingetting more insight into the intricate interplay between attention, implicitprocesses, and dating choices.ConclusionIn conclusion, the findings of my dissertation illustrate that when people areattracted to someone, they are more likely to focus on them as their attention narrows down to the potential partner. People are also more likely toperceive a person they find attractive in a more biased way, which increasesthe chance that they approach them. Finally, when they approach them,they are more likely to mimic them, thus increasing their chances of gettinganother date. Altogether, my findings contribute to our understanding ofhow attraction influences social interactions and relationships.Iliana Samara 17x24.indd 178 08-04-2024 16:37