S5 Ep01: Your Mind on Conversation with Dr. Sebastian Speer
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What makes for a great conversation? Dr. Sebastian Spear shares his research using hyperscanning (neuroimaging on multiple brains at once) to study people's brains during real conversations. We discuss differences in conversations between friends and strangers, and why exploration might be the crucial piece making for good conversations. Beth and Ava defend the underrated art of small talk.
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Dr. Sebastian Speer
Research discussed
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Speer, S. P., Mwilambwe-Tshilobo, L., Tsoi, L., Burns, S. M., Falk, E. B., & Tamir, D. I. (2024). Hyperscanning shows friends explore and strangers converge in conversation. Nature communications, 15(1), 7781.
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Speer, S. P., Sened, H., Mwilambwe-Tshilobo, L., Falk, E. B., Tsoi, L., Burns, S. M., & Tamir, D. I. (2025). Finding Agreement: fMRI hyperscanning reveals dyads that explore in mental state space facilitate opinion alignment. bioRxiv, 2024-10.
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