According to researchers at the Aarhus University in Denmark, partners who have a high level of trust in each other share synchronized heart rates; giving merit to the science behind “hearts that beat as one”.
Researchers looked at how a person’s heart beat responds to the level of trust they might have for their partner, the findings was published in the Journal of Physiology and Behaviour.
The body of research indicates that there are indeed physical changes a person’s heart and mind undergoes as they begin to choose whether or not to trust their partner.
37 pairs of participants were recruited and had to work together to build Lego block cars.
One half of the group was to build the cars, whilst the second half of the group was asked to partake in a financial investment game as they build the cars.
Participants were given an option to invest some or all of their simulated money.
If everyone invested all their money, the group would reap a bigger reward as those who had invested all their money into the common pool showed the amount of trust they shared for the other participants.
How did they monitor the heart beat?
“When each pair’s hearts were measured in beats-per-minute, the researchers found those in the all-in “trust” group had a higher heart rate synchronization compared to those who were not in the trust group.”
If you and your partner’s heart beat is in perfect unison then that could be because you trust one another.
Researchers deduced that the participant’s heart beats were in synchronisation, as they trusted each other or the idea of investing all their money was deemed risky and therefore excited their hearts at the same rate, which led to arousal.
However, experts are still not clear as to why heart beats align with others during periods of trust, ‘but they believe it could be used as a way to predict beliefs and behaviours about others’.
Now, men this does not mean you need to check your partner’s heart beat every chance you get.
There are other underlying physiological mechanisms that could play a role in a person’s body or mind when it comes down to trusting a partner or not.
Sources: Medical Daily, Journal of Physiology and Behaviour
Alice Paulse
