This project investigates how laughing together affects social behaviour such as cooperation in the context of bio-behavioural synchrony. Our hypothesis is that laughing together synchronizes brain activity, heart rhythm and behaviour between interaction partners. We measure the mechanism of interpersonal synchrony through ECG, behavioural observation and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). To measure the brain activity of two people at the same time, we use fNIRS hyperscanning. In this project, children first laugh together and then perform cooperative tasks in games.

This research is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions - Grant of the European Commission  – project number 101023989.