Unobtrusive tracking of interpersonal orienting and distance predicts the subjective quality of social interactions

Interpersonal coordination of behavior is essential for smooth social interactions. Measures of interpersonal behavior, however, often rely on subjective evaluations, invasive measurement techniques or gross measures of motion. Here, we constructed an unobtrusive motion tracking system that enables detailed analysis of behavior at the individual and interpersonal levels, which we validated using wearable sensors. We evaluate dyadic measures of joint orienting and distancing, synchrony and gaze behaviors to summarize data collected during natural conversation and joint action tasks. Our results demonstrate that patterns of proxemic behaviors, rather than more widely used measures of interpersonal synchrony, best predicted the subjective quality of the interactions. Increased distance between participants predicted lower enjoyment, while increased joint orienting toward each other during cooperation correlated with increased effort reported by the participants. Importantly, the interperso...

人际行为协调对于流畅的社交互动至关重要。然而，人际行为的测量方法往往依赖主观评估、侵入性测量技术或粗略的动作测量。在此，我们构建了一套无干扰动作追踪系统，能够对个体及人际层面的行为进行精细化分析，并通过可穿戴传感器（wearable sensors）对其进行了验证。我们评估了联合定向、距离调节、同步性及注视行为的二元测量指标，以总结自然对话与联合行动任务中采集的数据。研究结果表明，空间行为模式（proxemic behaviors）——而非更广泛使用的人际同步性测量指标——能最佳预测互动的主观质量。参与者间距离增大预示着愉悦度降低，而合作过程中双方联合定向程度的提升则与参与者报告的努力程度增加相关。重要的是，人际...