Joint action coordination: systemic aspects and socio-psychophysiological factors (review)

Introduction: The review analyses the studies focused on the systemic aspects of joint action coordination and the influence of socio-psychophysiological factors on its success. Aims. The paper presents a systemic analysis of the data obtained from the studies on joint action coordination, its socio-psychological factors and relations with affiliative behavior and social memory. Results. The first part is dedicated to the main cognitive-motor mechanisms that ensure interaction and precise joint action coordination, such as: shared attention, anticipation, and spatiotemporal adaptation. Anticipation and continuous mutual monitoring facilitate interpersonal coordination and allow people to plan their own behavior with respect to the possible actions of others. Successful joint actions require a certain degree of intersubject integration, which is influenced by the goals and intentions of the subjects, as well as their plan of actions and expected results. When information about the progress of joint actions is not available, behavioral strategies such as reduced temporal variability (of one’s own actions) and identified contributions (of a partner/partners) can be used to facilitate interpersonal coordination. One form of interaction that facilitates successful interpersonal cooperation is sensorimotor communication, which manifests itself in the systematic deviation of instrumental actions from the most efficient way of acting to provide the co-actor with additional information (feedback) about one’s own intentions. The second part deals with the bidirectional relationship between psychosocial factors and interpersonal coordination. On the one hand, attitudes, motivational structure, locus of control, and a person's general propensity for social interaction determine the success of joint actions and behavioral strategies. On the other hand, the experience of joint rhythmic activities leads to an increase in prosocial attitudes (trust, sympathy) and affiliative behavior (cooperation) of the subjects. Conclusion. This article shows that the effects of such interactions can be preserved in the form of social memory and, therefore, influence subsequent behavior and relationship patterns. The study of patterns that determine the success of joint actions can be used to improve staff-patient interactions in medical practice, select effective teams, optimize working conditions, and improve robotic systems.