Movement synchrony over time: What's in the trajectory of dyadic interactions in workplace coaching?

Tünde Erdös*, Paul Jansen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Coaching is increasingly viewed as a dyadic exchange of verbal and non-verbal interactions driving clients' progress. Yet, little is known about how the trajectory of dyadic interactions plays out in workplace coaching.

Method: This paper provides a multiple-step exploratory investigation of movement synchrony (MS) of dyads in workplace coaching. We analyzed a publicly available dataset of 173 video-taped dyads. Specifically, we averaged MS per session/dyad to explore the temporal patterns of MS across (a) the cluster of dyads that completed 10 sessions, and (b) a set of 173 dyadic interactions with a varied number of sessions. Additionally, we linked that pattern to several demographic predictors. The results indicate a differential downward trend of MS.

Results: Demographic factors do not predict best fitting MS curve types, and only client age and coach experience show a small but significant correlation.

Discussion: We provide contextualized interpretations of these findings and propose conceptual considerations and recommendations for future coaching process research and practice.
Original languageEnglish
Article number845394
Pages (from-to)1-17
Number of pages17
JournalFrontiers in Psychology
Volume13
Issue numberApril
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We acknowledge the contributions of Institute of Coaching, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate, ICF, EMCC, WBECS, and all individuals that supported the recruitment process in the data collection phase. The content of this manuscript forms part of a Ph.D. thesis; the source of which is listed in the reference list.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Erdös and Jansen.

Funding

We acknowledge the contributions of Institute of Coaching, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate, ICF, EMCC, WBECS, and all individuals that supported the recruitment process in the data collection phase. The content of this manuscript forms part of a Ph.D. thesis; the source of which is listed in the reference list.

Keywords

  • coaching process
  • demographics
  • movement synchrony
  • non-verbal interactional processes
  • number of sessions

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