Romantic relationships attenuated competition between lovers: evidence from brain synchronization

Abstract

Abstract Competition is an essential component of social interaction and is influenced by interpersonal relationships. This study is based on social exchange theory and explores the relationship between brain synchronization and competition in the binary system of romantic relationships through electroencephalogram hyperscanning technology. The results found that females had a greater win rate in the romantic and friend groups. During the early stage (0–200 ms), when the competitive target appeared, the stranger group exhibited greater interbrain synchronicity in the Alpha frequency band. However, during the later stage (600–800 ms), the romantic group showed higher Alpha band interbrain synchrony when the competitive target appeared. Significant interbrain synchronizations were observed in the Theta frequency band of the stranger and friend groups at 400–600 ms and 800–1000 ms. Moreover, these interbrain synchronizations were significantly positively correlated with the winning rates of females in the competition. These findings suggest a close relationship between interpersonal coordination and interbrain synchronization. Furthermore, romantic relationships reduce participants’ willingness to compete, affecting their attention regulation, emotional processing, and goal orientation, thus influencing competition. This study investigated the impact of romantic relationships on competition, providing a theoretical foundation for promoting the positive and healthy development of romantic relationships.