Revealing Behavioural Synchronization in Humans and Other Animals: Why Individuals Mirror Others

This book presents a thorough and up-to-date review of the scientific literature on behavioural synchronization and its underlying neurocognitive and neurophysiological processes, from the neuronal to the interindividual and group scale. This multi-disciplinary and multi-scale approach makes this book of interest to scientists and graduate students for both theoretical issues as well practical issues such as mobilizing animals and humans for group / mass actions (e.g. for climate change, diabetes, leading animals, etc.).

About the Author

Angélique Lamontagne is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, she graduated from the National Veterinary School of Toulouse, France, and she is a PhD student at the Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology (Aix-Marseille University, France). Her main interest is animal cognition in the context of human-animal interactions. She worked with the Research Center for Human Animal Interaction (Missouri, USA), on the interactions between shelter cats and children with ASD. Her current research focuses on dog behavioural synchronization with humans. Specifically, she studies the sensorimotor basis and the social modulation of dog behavioural adjustments in the human environment. In addition to her veterinary thesis, she has published 3 scientific articles.

Florence Gaunet has a background in cognitive neuroscience and is senior researcher at CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) / France in cognitive ethology. She works at Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (Aix-Marseille University). She is specialized in social cognition of dogs. Her scientific publication contribution is particularly marked regarding referential and intentional communication and behavioural synchronization of dogs with humans. She also studies spatial cognition as well as social and spatial adjustments of dogs in their environments (home, city, etc.). The role of sensorimotor systems and processes in nonverbal interaction and communication as well as behavioural contagion, now for behavioural change especially for climate mitigation and adaptation, are her main interests. She has published 87 scientific papers and chapters and one book.