Stable asynchrony? Association between borderline personality traits and interpersonal asynchrony.
Camilla Gregorini, Pietro De Carli, Laura Lucia Parolin, Marco A. Petilli, Ivana Konvalinka, Emanuele Preti · Personality Disorders Theory Research and Treatment · 2024
= 206) were recruited from the general population. BPD traits were assessed, and interpersonal synchrony was measured with a finger-tapping task. Participants were instructed to interact with a virtual partner (VP) that varied its adaptivity level in response to their taps across different conditions of adaptivity (α), ranging from nonadaptive to overly adaptive. After each interaction, the perception of synchrony and affect were assessed. Results showed an overall main significant effect of the adaptivity of the VP on interpersonal synchrony and the interaction experience, such that when VP adaptivity increased, asynchrony and perceived synchrony decreased. High levels of BPD traits were associated with higher asynchrony and variability, depending on the level of VP adaptivity, and an overall more negative perception of synchrony and affect. These findings show that high BPD traits are associated with reduced interpersonal synchrony during interaction. Consistent with these findings, interventions might consider the potential role of interpersonal synchrony in building the therapeutic relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).