The ECSU-PCE Dataset: A comprehensive recording of embodied social interaction with EEG, peripheral physiology, and behavioral measurements in adults

The study of dyadic social interaction has become an active field of research, yet many foundational questions regarding the mechanistic basis and potential role of inter-bodily and inter-brain synchrony remain. One methodological stumbling block has been the absence of a comprehensive, high-quality dataset in the public domain that could serve as a shared reference point for the field for the specific purpose of testing new hypotheses and methods. Here we provide such a dataset focused on embodied dyadic interaction, the ECSU-PCE Dataset, which includes sensorimotor variables and a range of physiological measurements: electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), and respiration dynamics. Participants’ subjective reports on their social experience and questionnaire-based personality traits are also included. The data was acquired from a total of 32 pairs of participants involving 64 healthy able-bodied adults. Each pair completed 18 one-minute trials of a haptics-based social contingency detection task, known as the “perceptual crossing experiment" (PCE); the current study successfully replicated previous PCE findings. Three-minute resting state data was also recorded at four points in time: before the start of social interaction, and after trials 6, 12, and 18, i.e. after the end of their interaction. The ECSU-PCE dataset is expected to be of interest for researchers interested social interaction, embodied cognition, and the effects of online technological mediation.