Abstract
Recent research has investigated the outcomes associated with groups of people participating in synchronized activities. For example, participating in vigorous synchronized activities may result in increased pain tolerance, which has been interpreted as elevated levels of endorphins (Cohen et al., 2009; Sullivan et al., 2011). Non-vigorous synchronous activities have also been found to promote an individuals willingness to cooperate with others (Wiltermuth & Heath, 2009), which is known to be an effect of endorphins (Machin & Dubar, 2011). The present study has combined the protocols used by Cohen et al., (2009) and Wiltermuth & Heath (2009). Specifically, the study examined if non-vigorous synchronized activities would produce the same 'synchrony effect' on pain tolerance found with vigorous synchronized activities. A sample of 18 undergraduate students (8 male, 10 female) walked on a treadmill for 15 min (M=2.0 km/hr) under two conditions: solitary, and synchronized in pairs. The conditions were counterbalanced, and pace was matched in both sessions. As per Cohen et al. (2009), post-activity pain tolerance was measured using a blood pressure cuff on participants' non-dominant arms. Results indicated that post-activity pain tolerance did not differ significantly between individual (M = 176.11, SD = 68.27) and paired (M = 188.89, SD = 73.80) conditions (t (17) = -1.52, p > .05). The present results did not replicate those of previous research which found a significant increase in pain tolerance after the group conditions. The inconsistent results may be due to the influence of the size of the groups, as both Cohen et al., (2009) and Wiltermuth & Heath (2009) used larger groups than in the present study.
