Emotional Synchrony between Performers and Audiences in live Concert and Theater ArtslScience Initiative 2014 Faculty Collaboration Grant Greg Norman, Department of Psychology Berthold Hoeckner, Department of Music Howard Nusbaum, Department of Psychology Introduction The overarching goal of our proposal is to better understand the mechanisms through which actors and musicians are able to induce strong emotional states in one another as well as audience members. There is general agreement between audience members and performers regarding the general quality of a given performance. Despite such agreement, there exists very little research into the mechanisms that allow performers, both actors and musicians, to engender specific emotions in others. Consequently, the means through which quality performances are able to induce strong emotions and transformational experiences in some audience members and not others is poorly understood. This proposal seeks to address this very issue through the utilization of expert improvisational actors at the Second City comedy club (Chicago, Illinois) and the world-class musicians from the Pacifica Quartet (now the Don-Randel Ensemble in Residence at the University of Chicago). As will be described in more detail below, we will utilize ultraportable physiological monitors to record variables associated with emotion expression and experience including heart rate, skin temperature and body movement. In order to evaluate aspects of physiological and emotional resonance, these devices will be word by performers and select audience members during a live performance. EFTA00704761