Examining Multiscale Movement Coordination in Collaborative Problem Solving

During collaborative problem solving (CPS), coordination occurs at different spatial and temporal scales. This multiscale coordination should, at least on some scales, play a functional role in facilitating effective collaboration outcomes. To evaluate this, we conducted a study of computer-based CPS with 42 dyads. We used cross-wavelet coherence as a way to examine the degree to which movement coordination is evident at a variety of scales and tested whether the observed coordination was greater than both the amount expected due to chance and due to task demands. We found that coordination at scales less than 2s was greater than expected due to chance and at most scales (except 16s, 1m, and 2m) was greater than expected due to task demands. Lastly, we evaluated whether the degree of coherence at scales less than 2s, and the form of coordination (in terms of relative phase), were predictive of CPS performance. We found that .25s and 1s scales were predictive of performance. When including relative phase, our results suggest that higher in-phase movement coordination at the 1s scale was the strongest predictor of CPS performance. We discuss these findings and detail their relevance for expanding our knowledge on how coordination facilitates CPS.