Bonding and buffering in group exercise
Bonding and buffering in group exercise
In this talk we'll be discussing reciprocal links between exercise and social bonding. Exercise, broadly construed, is a cultural universal - from ceremonial rituals to team sports, people everywhere get together to move together. Our research investigates whether and how such activities serve a social bonding function, as has been long claimed in the social scientific literature. Specifically, we explore the social bonding effects of behavioural coordination and exercise-induced reward. We are also interested in the effects of social bonding on exercise ability and performance, particularly on pain and fatigue thresholds. The research attempts to reveal mechanisms underlying the links between coordinated movement, pleasure and pain, and bonding and cooperation and thereby to contribute new data on a pervasive element of everday life that impacts physical, cognitive, emotional and social wellbeing.
This seminar forms part of the School's Evolutionary Demography Group's monthly Evo Demo evening seminars.
Conversations to be carried on in the pub thereafter if people wish.
Admission