Nonverbal Synchrony Research Articles

Impact of Hearing Loss and Auditory Rehabilitation on Dyads: A Microsocial Perspective

AbstractHearing loss severely hampers verbal exchange and thus social interaction, which puts a high burden on hearing-impaired and their close partners. Until now, nonverbal interaction in hearing-impaired dyads has not been addressed as a relevant factor for well-being or quality of social relationships. Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement was analysed in N = 30 dyads of persons with hearing impairment (PHI) and their significant others (SO). In a 10-minute conversation before (T1) and 6 months after cochlear implantation (T2), Motion Energy Analysis (MEA) automatically quantified head- and body-movement. Self-report measures of both dyad members were used to assess aspects of quality of life and closeness in the partnership. After cochlear implantation, nonverbal synchrony showed a downward trend and was less distinct from pseudosynchrony. Higher synchrony was associated with worse hearing-related quality of life, shorter duration of hearing impairment and less closeness in the relationship. This negative association was interpreted as an indication for the effort one has to make to cope with difficulties in a dyad`s relationship. Endorsing a holistic approach in auditory rehabilitation, we propose the assessment of nonverbal synchrony as a suitable tool to detect subtle imbalances in the interpersonal relation between PHI and SO outside conscious control and to provide cues for possible therapeutical strategies.

Межличностная синхронизация в диадах «наставник—наставляемый»: Анализ невербальной синхронизации и эмпатии

<p style="text-align: justify;">Interpersonal synchrony is a notable aspect of communication; it is evident at various levels, including nonverbal. However, research on interpersonal synchrony in the workplace is limited in general and for mentoring in particular. Empathy is essential for both interpersonal synchrony and mentoring. This study aims to investigate how trait-empathy contributes to nonverbal synchrony in mentor-mentee dyads. Thirty-seven pairs were recruited from the Mentorship Program and engaged in conversations on work and leisure topics. Empathy was assessed using The Empathy Quotient, and nonverbal synchrony was measured via Motion Energy Analysis. A significant contribution of the mentee’s cognitive empathy to the averaged head movement synchrony was found. Cognitive empathy enhances the mentee’s understanding of a mentor’s perspective and expectations through nonverbal cues, particularly facial expressions and head movements. The relationship between cognitive empathy and nonverbal synchrony could be considered in mentoring programs for pairing, as previous research has shown that synchronized dyads are more successful in achieving joint outcomes. However, further research using other methods and a larger sample size is needed.</p>

Catching a (sine) wave: Temporal dynamics of nonverbal synchrony in social anxiety disorder

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) experience a range of interpersonal problems and studies have found that nonverbal synchrony (the coordination between interaction partners’ movements) may be impaired in dyads in which one individual has SAD (Asher et al., 2020). In the present study, we examined the temporal dynamics of nonverbal synchrony during “getting aquatinted” conversations of individuals with and without SAD. Specifically, participants (n = 146) formed either SAD dyads (dyads in which one individual had SAD and the other did not; n = 37 dyads), or control dyads (dyads in which both individuals did not have SAD; n = 36 dyads). Dyads were randomized to either small talk or closeness-generating (i.e., intimate) conversations. We found that during conversations, nonverbal synchrony followed a repeating pattern of increases and decreases that was best modeled by a sinusoidal wave (explained variance = 63.74 %). We found significant Diagnosis × Social Context interactions in the temporal dynamics of nonverbal synchrony (i.e., in the parameters of sine waves). Specifically, we found that for SAD dyads (but not control dyads), the average sine wave amplitude which indicates increases and decreases in nonverbal synchrony was greater during small talk conversations compared to closeness-generating conversations. In addition, we found that among control dyads (but not SAD dyads), the average vertical offset of sine waves (i.e., the average level of nonverbal synchrony) during closeness-generating conversations was greater compared to small talk conversations. The findings are interpreted within the context of the social anxiety literature as capturing two distinct social-anxiety related processes, and suggest that when examined temporally (rather than averaged), nonverbal synchrony may be an important implicit biomarker of SAD.

Evidence of mutual non-verbal synchrony in learners with severe learning disability and autism, and their support workers: a motion energy analysis study.

Some research indicates that neurodivergent people are less likely than "neurotypical" people to adapt their movements to a partner's movements to facilitate interpersonal motor synchrony. Researchers therefore suggest synchrony deficits underlie the social differences associated with autism and other neurodivergences. Intensive Interaction (II) is a client-led approach, where Learning Support Workers (LSW) follow the lead of learners to create balanced and reciprocal interactions. We aimed to examine the balance of synchrony in learners with autism and Severe Learning Disabilities and their LSWs in a special education college where learners had prior experience with II. Using Motion Energy Analysis, we assessed the degree to which each partner acted as a leader, and hence which partner acted as a follower, during moments of close synchrony. Overall, learners and LSWs showed higher than chance synchrony. There were no differences in the degree to which each partner led the moments of synchrony, or the amount pairs synchronized with zero-lag, where there was no delay between each partners' movements. The equal balance of leading and following in the learner and LSW pairs demonstrates that both partners consistently adapted their movements to their partner's movements to facilitate synchrony. The findings tentatively challenge the notion of a synchrony deficit in autism and suggest synchrony can be present in cross-neurotype pairs in comfortable and engaging conditions. We discuss the potential for client-led, movement-based approaches to support smooth interactions across neurotypes.

Nonverbal synchrony in diagnostic interviews of individuals with social anxiety disorder

The present study examined nonverbal synchrony (i.e., synchrony between individuals’ movement) during diagnostic interviews of individuals with and without social anxiety disorder (SAD). Specifically, 42 individuals with SAD and 42 individuals without SAD underwent a structured clinical interview, and videos of clinical interviews were analysed using Motion Energy Analysis (an objective machine-based video analysis) to quantify each individuals’ movement as well as dyadic synchrony. Results indicated that interviews of individuals with SAD had significantly lower levels of nonverbal synchrony compared to interviews of individuals without SAD. In addition, interviews of individuals with SAD had lower levels of pacing compared to interviews of individuals without SAD (pacing refers to synchrony in which the interviewer initiates movement to which the participant responds). Analyses with social anxiety represented as a continuum of severity (vs. a diagnostic dichotomy) resulted in similar findings. Thus, individuals with SAD synchronized with interviewers’ movement to a lesser extent compared to individuals without SAD, and social anxiety was associated with diminished synchrony. Implications for psychopathology and diagnosis of SAD are discussed.

Extracting vocal characteristics and calculating vocal synchrony using Praat and R: A tutorial

In clinical research, the dependence of the results on the methods used is frequently discussed. In research on nonverbal synchrony, human ratings or automated methods do not lead to congruent results. Even when automated methods are used, the choice of the method and parameter settings are important to obtain congruent results. However, these are often insufficiently reported and do not meet the standard of transparency and reproducibility. This tutorial is aimed at researchers who are not familiar with the software Praat and R and shows in detail how to extract acoustic features like fundamental frequency or speech rate from video or audio files in conversations. Furthermore, it is presented how vocal synchrony indices can be calculated from these characteristics to represent how well two interaction partners vocally adapt to each other. All used scripts as well as a minimal example, can be found on the Open Science Framework and Github.

Friends in Sync? Examining the Relationship Between the Degree of Nonverbal Synchrony, Friendship Satisfaction and Support

Friends in Sync? Examining the Relationship Between the Degree of Nonverbal Synchrony, Friendship Satisfaction and Support

A multimodal case study utilizing physiological synchrony as indicator of context in which motion synchrony is associated with the working alliance.

Interest in the association between patient and therapist's motion synchrony and the working alliance has been growing in recent years. This interest is part of a larger effort in psychotherapy research to study how the working alliance, being central to the therapeutic process, develops over the course of therapy. However, while previous studies suggest that such an association between motion synchrony and the working alliance exists, there are mixed results regarding the direction of it. The present single-case study seeks to shed light on these mixed results with a multimodal perspective of nonverbal synchrony. That is, through an exploration of a single case, the present study explores physiological synchrony as an indicator of context in which motion synchrony is associated with the working alliance. For this aim, a single case was chosen from a randomized control trial investigating short-term psychodynamic treatment for major depressive disorder. Statistical analysis identified an interaction between physiological synchrony and motion synchrony in predicting working alliance levels. Findings show that in the context of an antiphase pattern of physiological synchrony (negative association between physiological measures of the two participants), there was a positive association between motion synchrony and the working alliance. This study emphasizes the potential of a multimodal approach, while suggesting a possible explanation for mixed results in current literature that focuses on the association between motion synchrony and the working alliance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Truth-tellers' and liars' synchrony during attitude-inconsistent conversations

The recently-proposed strategic synchrony hypothesis holds that deceivers (more than truth-tellers) use nonverbal synchrony as a way to maintain their credibility and the smooth flow of interactions. However, important questions remain as to how an interaction partner's behavior and the topic of interaction qualify the strategic synchrony hypothesis. This study considered whether naïve participants (i.e., truth-tellers and deceivers) synchronize differently to high- and low-involvement partners (i.e., confederates) depending on whether the partners discuss climate change or tuition increases, two salient conversational topics for our participants. Deceivers who discussed climate change with a high-involvement partner were especially likely to subjectively perceive that both they themselves and their partner initiated synchrony during the discussion of climate change. However, objective automated analyses of bodily movement synchrony revealed a different set of findings: Dyads with a truth-teller demonstrated higher increases in synchrony than dyads with a deceiver when moving from a superficial discussion of what they liked about their university to a direct discussion of climate change. Results are discussed in terms of how they advance the strategic synchrony hypothesis.

People, places, and time: a large-scale, longitudinal study of transformed avatars and environmental context in group interaction in the metaverse

Abstract As the metaverse expands, understanding how people use virtual reality to learn and connect is increasingly important. We used the Transformed Social Interaction paradigm (Bailenson et al., 2004) to examine different avatar identities and environments over time. In Study 1 (n = 81), entitativity, presence, enjoyment, and realism increased over 8 weeks. Avatars that resembled participants increased synchrony, similarities in moment-to-moment nonverbal behaviors between participants. Moreover, self-avatars increased self-presence and realism, but decreased enjoyment, compared to uniform avatars. In Study 2 (n = 137), participants cycled through 192 unique virtual environments. As visible space increased, so did nonverbal synchrony, perceived restorativeness, entitativity, pleasure, arousal, self- and spatial presence, enjoyment, and realism. Outdoor environments increased perceived restorativeness and enjoyment more than indoor environments. Self-presence and realism increased over time in both studies. We discuss implications of avatar appearance and environmental context on social behavior in classroom contexts over time.

Positivity resonance in long-term married couples: Multimodal characteristics and consequences for health and longevity.

The Positivity Resonance Theory of coexperienced positive affect describes moments of interpersonal connection characterized by shared positive affect, caring nonverbal synchrony, and biological synchrony. The construct validity of positivity resonance and its longitudinal associations with health have not been tested. The current longitudinal study examined whether positivity resonance in conflict interactions between 154 married couples predicts health trajectories over 13 years and longevity over 30 years. We used couples' continuous ratings of affect during the interactions to capture coexperienced positive affect and continuous physiological responses to capture biological synchrony between spouses. Video recordings were behaviorally coded for coexpressed positive affect, synchronous nonverbal affiliation cues (SNAC), and behavioral indicators of positivity resonance (BIPR). To evaluate construct validity, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to test a latent factor of positivity resonance encompassing coexperienced positive affect, coexpressed positive affect, physiological linkage of interbeat heart intervals, SNAC, and BIPR. The model showed excellent fit. To evaluate associations with health and longevity, we used dyadic latent growth curve modeling and Cox proportional hazards modeling, respectively, and found that greater latent positivity resonance predicted less steep declines in health and increased longevity. Associations were robust when accounting for initial health symptoms, sociodemographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, and individually experienced positive affect. We repeated health and longevity analyses, replacing latent positivity resonance with BIPR, and found consistent results. Findings validate positivity resonance as a multimodal construct, support the utility of the BIPR measure, and provide initial evidence for the characterization of positivity resonance as a positive health behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Nonverbal Synchrony in Technology-Mediated Interviews: A Cross-Cultural Study.

Technology-mediated communication has changed the way we interact. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, this trend became even more pronounced. Media interviews are no exception. Yet, studies on nonverbal behaviors, especially nonverbal synchrony during such mediated settings, have been scarce. To fill the research gap, this study investigated synchronized patterns between interview hosts’ and guests’ facial emotional displays and upper body movement during mediated interviews recorded in the countries in Western (mainly the US, with the addition of the UK) and Eastern cultures (Japan). The interviews were categorized into information- or entertainment-driven interviews, depending on the social attributes of the guest. The time series of the valence in facial displays and upper body movement was automatedly measured using FaceReader and Motion Energy Analysis software, respectively, which was analyzed in terms of simultaneous movements, a primary component of synchrony. As predicted, facial synchrony was more prevalent in information-driven interviews, supporting the motivational and strategic account of synchrony. In addition, female-hosted interviews had a higher degree of synchrony, especially in information-driven interviews. Similar patterns were seen in movement synchrony, although not significant. This study is the first evidence of synchrony in technology-mediated interviews in which a host and a guest appear on split-screen to inform or entertain audiences. However, no cultural differences in synchrony were observed. Situational demands in front of the interactants and the goal-driven nature of communication seemed to play a more prominent role than cultural differences in nonverbal synchrony.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10919-022-00416-3.

Dyadic nonverbal synchrony during pre and post music therapy interventions and its relationship to self-reported therapy readiness.

Nonverbal interpersonal synchronization has been established as an important factor in therapeutic relationships, and the differentiation of who leads the interaction appears to provide further important information. We investigated nonverbal synchrony – quantified as the coordination of body movement between patient and therapist. This was observed in music therapy dyads, while engaged in verbal interaction before and after a music intervention in the session. We further examined associations with patients’ self-reported therapy readiness at the beginning of the session. Eleven neurological in-patients participated in this study. Our results showed an increase in both nonverbal synchrony and patient leading after the music intervention. A significant negative correlation was found between self-reported therapy readiness and nonverbal synchrony after the music intervention. These findings point to the empathic ability of the music therapist to sense patients’ therapy readiness. Higher patient leading in nonverbal synchrony after the music intervention may thus indicate that the music intervention may have allowed dyadic entrainment to take place, potentially increasing self-regulation and thus empowering patients.

Nonverbal synchrony in subjects with hearing impairment and their significant others.

Hearing loss has a great impact on the people affected, their close partner and the interaction between both, as oral communication is restricted. Nonverbal communication, which expresses emotions and includes implicit information on interpersonal relationship, has rarely been studied in people with hearing impairment (PHI). In psychological settings, non-verbal synchrony of body movements in dyads is a reliable method to study interpersonal relationship. A 10-min social interaction was videorecorded in 39 PHI (29 spouses and 10 parent-child dyads) and their significant others (SOs). Nonverbal synchrony, which means the nonverbal behaviors of two interacting persons (referring to both general synchrony and the role of leading) and verbal interaction (percentage of speech, frequency of repetitions, and queries) were analyzed by computer algorithms and observer ratings. Hearing-related quality of life, coping mechanisms, general psychopathology, quality of relationship, and burden of hearing loss experienced by SOs were assessed using questionnaires. In the 39 dyads, true nonverbal synchrony differed from pseudosynchrony [t (43.4) = 2.41; p = 0.02] with a medium effect size (d = 0.42). Gender of PHI had a significant effect on general synchrony (p = 0.025) and on leading by SOs (p = 0.017). Age gap correlated with synchronic movements (p = 0.047). Very short duration of hearing impairment was associated with lower nonverbal synchrony in the role of leading by SOs (p = 0.031). Feeling of closeness by PHI correlated negatively with the role of leading by SOs (p > 0.001) and feeling of closeness by SOs was positively associated with leading by PHI (p = 0.015). No correlation was detected between nonverbal synchrony and other questionnaires. Burden experienced by the SOs was higher in SOs who reported less closeness (p = 0.014). A longer hearing impairment leads to more nonverbal leading by SOs compared to PHI with very short duration of hearing loss, possibly because of the long-lasting imbalance in communication. If PHI felt more closeness, SOs led less and vice versa. Burden experienced by SOs negatively correlated with closeness reported by SOs. Use of nonverbal signals and communication might help to improve benefits of auditory rehabilitation for PHI and decrease burden experienced by SOs.

The goods in everyday love: Positivity resonance builds prosociality.

The positivity resonance theory of coexperienced positive affect (Fredrickson, 2016) identifies the emotion of love as a collective state. This state, termed positive resonance, is defined by the presence of three key features: shared positive affect, caring nonverbal synchrony, and biological synchrony. The current study examined whether a modest behavioral intervention focused on increasing social connectedness could increase study participants' perceptions of day-to-day positivity resonance with corollary impacts on their tendencies for prosociality and self-centeredness. Adults (N = 416, M age = 33.8) were randomized to one of four study conditions: either of two variants of the social connectedness intervention or either of two control groups. Positivity resonance, prosociality, and self-centeredness were measured nightly for 35 consecutive days. Dynamic multilevel factor models of nightly reports showed significant growth in positivity resonance, relative to a passive control group, for the two intervention groups and higher mean levels of prosociality for one of them. In addition, significant dose-response relations were evident (both between persons and within persons), linking positivity resonance to both prosociality and self-centeredness. The within-persons effect for prosociality (but not self-centeredness) was significantly stronger for those randomized to the intervention groups, relative to both passive and active control groups. Taken together, findings suggest that the affective quality of people's day-to-day social encounters may have implications for community flourishing. Discussion centers on theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Nonverbal Synchrony: An Indicator of Clinical Communication Quality in Racially-Concordant and Racially-Discordant Oncology Interactions.

ObjectivesThe aim of this cross-sectional study was to apply a novel software to measure and compare levels of nonverbal synchrony, as a potential indicator of communication quality, in video recordings of racially-concordant and racially-discordant oncology interactions. Predictions include that the levels of nonverbal synchrony will be greater during racially-concordant interactions than racially-discordant interactions, and that levels of nonverbal synchrony will be associated with traditional measures of communication quality in both racially-concordant and racially-discordant interactions.DesignThis is a secondary observational analysis of video-recorded oncology treatment discussions collected from 2 previous studies.SettingTwo National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and another large urban cancer center.ParticipantsParticipants from Study 1 include 161 White patients with cancer and 11 White medical oncologists. Participants from Study 2 include 66 Black/African-American patients with cancer and 17 non-Black medical oncologists. In both studies inclusion criteria for patients was a recent cancer diagnosis; in Study 2 inclusion criteria was identifying as Black/African American.Main outcome measuresNonverbal synchrony and communication quality.ResultsGreater levels of nonverbal synchrony were observed in racially-discordant interactions than in racially-concordant interactions. Levels of nonverbal synchrony were associated with indicators of communication quality, and these associations were more consistently found in racially-discordant interactions.ConclusionThis study advances clinical communication and disparities research by successfully applying a novel approach capturing the unconscious nature of communication, and revealing differences in communication in racially-discordant and racially-concordant oncology interactions. This study highlights the need for further exploration of nonverbal aspects relevant to patient-physician interactions.

Movement-based patient-therapist attunement in psychological therapy and its association with early change.

ObjectiveAttunement is a novel measure of nonverbal synchrony reflecting the duration of the present moment shared by two interaction partners. This study examined its association with early change in outpatient psychotherapy.MethodsAutomated video analysis based on motion energy analysis (MEA) and cross-correlation of the movement time-series of patient and therapist was conducted to calculate movement synchrony for N = 161 outpatients. Movement-based attunement was defined as the range of connected time lags with significant synchrony. Latent change classes in the HSCL-11 were identified with growth mixture modeling (GMM) and predicted by pre-treatment covariates and attunement using multilevel multinomial regression.ResultsGMM identified four latent classes: high impairment, no change (Class 1); high impairment, early response (Class 2); moderate impairment (Class 3); and low impairment (Class 4). Class 2 showed the strongest attunement, the largest early response, and the best outcome. Stronger attunement was associated with a higher likelihood of membership in Class 2 (b = 0.313, p = .007), Class 3 (b = 0.251, p = .033), and Class 4 (b = 0.275, p = .043) compared to Class 1. For highly impaired patients, the probability of no early change (Class 1) decreased and the probability of early response (Class 2) increased as a function of attunement.ConclusionsAmong patients with high impairment, stronger patient-therapist attunement was associated with early response, which predicted a better treatment outcome. Video-based assessment of attunement might provide new information for therapists not available from self-report questionnaires and support therapists in their clinical decision-making.

Nonverbal synchrony as a marker of alliance ruptures.

Findings from the past 5 decades of empirical research on the working alliance suggest its importance in psychotherapy. Recent studies have sought to identify markers of the alliance, of which one of the most promising candidates is nonverbal synchrony. Delving into processes that constitute the alliance, such as alliance ruptures, may shed light on underlying mechanisms of the association between nonverbal synchrony and the therapeutic relationship. The present study examines whether nonverbal synchrony can serve as a marker of alliance ruptures. To achieve this aim, 418 sessions of 75 therapeutic dyads were coded for ruptures, using the Rupture Resolution Rating System, and for nonverbal synchrony, using motion energy analysis. A mixed-method analysis, integrating multilevel nested models with a case study analysis, was implemented. The results of the multilevel nested models suggest that nonverbal synchrony is significantly associated with confrontational ruptures, whereas withdrawal ruptures showed no such association. The findings of the case analysis suggest that moments of especially high nonverbal synchrony during a rupture are those in which the therapist made great efforts to be attentive to the patient when the patient acted in a confrontational manner. The findings of the present study demonstrate the potential of nonverbal synchrony to serve as a marker of confrontational ruptures. The findings support the social glue assumption, according to which therapists may seek higher levels of nonverbal synchrony with patients to maintain a strong alliance in the face of difficulties. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The influence of vocal synchrony on outcome and attachment anxiety/avoidance in treatments of social anxiety disorder.

Research indicates an effect of nonverbal synchrony on the therapeutic relationship and patients' symptom severity within psychotherapy. However, vocal synchrony research is still rare and inconsistent. This study investigates the relationship between vocal synchrony and outcome/attachment dimensions, controlling for therapeutic alliance and movement synchrony. Our sample consisted of 64 patients with social anxiety disorder. Symptom severity was assessed with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, whereas attachment was assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire at the beginning and end of therapy. Therapeutic alliance was measured with the Helping Alliance Questionnaire II. We determined vocal synchrony of the median and range of the fundamental frequency (f 0) by correlating f 0 values of manually segmented speaker turns. Movement synchrony was assessed via motion energy and time-series analyses. Patient- and therapist-led synchrony was differentiated. Statistical analyses were performed using mixed effects linear models. Vocal synchrony had a negative impact on outcome. Higher vocal synchrony led to higher symptom severity (if the patient led synchrony, at the end of therapy) as well as attachment anxiety, avoidance, and interpersonal problems at the end of therapy. Predicting attachment anxiety, the effect of therapist-led vocal synchrony went beyond the effect of therapeutic alliance and movement synchrony. High vocal synchrony may arise due to a lack of autonomy in social anxiety disorder patients or might reflect attempts to repair alliance ruptures. The results indicate that vocal synchrony and movement synchrony have different effects on treatment outcome. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Nonverbal Synchrony in Couple Therapy Linked to Clients' Well-Being and the Therapeutic Alliance.

Nonverbal synchrony between individuals has a robust relation to the positive aspects of relationships. In psychotherapy, where talking is the cure, nonverbal synchrony has been related to a positive outcome of therapy and to a stronger therapeutic alliance between therapist and client in dyadic settings. Only a few studies have focused on nonverbal synchrony in multi-actor therapy conversations. Here, we studied the synchrony of head and body movements in couple therapy, with four participants present (spouses and two therapists). We analyzed more than 2000min of couple therapy videos from 11 couple therapy cases using Motion Energy Analysis and a Surrogate Synchrony (SUSY), a procedure used earlier in dyadic psychotherapy settings. SUSY was calculated for all six dyads per session, leading to synchrony computations for 66 different dyads. Significant synchrony occurred in all 29 analyzed sessions and between the majority of dyads. Complex models were used to determine the relations between nonverbal synchrony and the clients’ well-being and all participants’ evaluations of the therapeutic alliance. The clients’ well-being was related to body synchronies in the sessions. Differences were found between the clients’ and therapists’ alliance evaluations: the clients’ alliance evaluations were related to synchrony between both dyads of opposite gender, whereas the therapists’ alliance evaluations were related to synchrony between dyads of the same gender, but opposite to themselves. With four participants present, our study introduces a new aspect of nonverbal synchrony, since as a dyad synchronizes, the other two participants are observing it. Nonverbal synchrony seems to be as important in couple therapy as in individual psychotherapy, but the presence of multiple participants makes the patterns more complex.