ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns social connection as it is manifested in unity states that individuals form with others, as a consequence of each responding to the other's perceptuo-motoric behavior. It assumes that progress toward a computational and dynamical social psychology not only requires that social psychologists substantially rethink data collection and data analytic approaches, but make substantial theoretical advances as well. The chapter suggests an alternative view to understanding cooperation and the pull to connect and be a social unit with others: one that does not require competition as the backdrop for cooperation, and thus does not posit that mind reading is crucial. It examines sociality in terms of the minimal conditions necessary for the emergence of the merest of social unity states. The chapter addresses social connection emergence in the context of goal-directed action, specifically joint action and the most neglected factor in understanding the emergence of social connection states: the role of the physical setting.
