Individual differences in music-induced interpersonal synchronization and self–other integration: the role of creativity and empathy

It has been demonstrated that moving together in synchrony to music makes us feel connected. Yet, little is known about the individual differences that shape the relationship between interpersonal synchronization to music and social bonding. The present research tests the hypothesis that this association is influenced by differences in empathy and creativity-two highly relevant factors in many musical activities. We implemented a synchronization task featuring a virtual drummer and measured self-other integration (SOI), a core component of social bonding. We employed a dual-measurement paradigm, incorporating both an explicit assessment (<i>Inclusion of Other in the Self</i> scale) and an implicit assessment (<i>joint-Simon effect</i>) of SOI. Surprisingly, our analysis did not reveal explicit and implicit measurements correlating, nor were they similarly affected by interpersonal synchronization. This raises questions about the assessment of SOI in interpersonal synchronization experiments. Furthermore, we observed no moderating role of empathy or creativity in the association between interpersonal synchronization and SOI. Nevertheless, we found creativity to correlate with SOI. In light of this finding, we recommend placing greater emphasis on creativity as a decisive factor in the study of musical interaction.