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. 2015 Oct;11(10):20150767.
doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0767.

Synchrony and exertion during dance independently raise pain threshold and encourage social bonding

Bronwyn Tarr  1 , Jacques Launay  2 , Emma Cohen  3 , Robin Dunbar  2
Affiliations

Synchrony and exertion during dance independently raise pain threshold and encourage social bonding

Bronwyn Tarr et al. Biol Lett. 2015 Oct.

Abstract

Group dancing is a ubiquitous human activity that involves exertive synchronized movement to music. It is hypothesized to play a role in social bonding, potentially via the release of endorphins, which are analgesic and reward-inducing, and have been implicated in primate social bonding. We used a 2 × 2 experimental design to examine effects of exertion and synchrony on bonding. Both demonstrated significant independent positive effects on pain threshold (a proxy for endorphin activation) and in-group bonding. This suggests that dance which involves both exertive and synchronized movement may be an effective group bonding activity.

Keywords: dance; endorphins; self–other merging; social bonding; synchrony.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mean (±1 s.e.) change in pain threshold in each movement condition. ***p ≤ 0.001.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mean (±1 s.e.) change for (a) in-group and (b) out-group prosociality index. *p ≤ 0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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