Collaborative drawing offers new insights into how strangers become friends

Phys · Aug 23, 2026 · 1263 words · By Florian Meyer

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What to know about Collaborative drawing offers new insights into how strangers become friends

The article describes two studies conducted by ETH Zurich researchers on inter-brain synchrony among younger and older adults engaged in collaborative drawing. The findings suggest that brain activity synchronization patterns differ between same-age and cross-generational pairs as they build relationships over time.

Propaganda risk 0%

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Collaborative drawing offers new insights into how strangers become friends Robert Egan Senior Editor The closer two people grow, the more alike their brains work—or so the assumption goes.

Why it matters

Two ETH Zurich studies challenge this idea by examining the brain activity of younger and older adults who drew together over several weeks.

Common ground

Despite growing closer, the similarity of their brain activity did not simply increase.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Collaborative drawing offers new insights into how strangers become friends?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The researchers also found that same-age pairs were more likely to draw at the same time, whereas intergenerational pairs took turns more often?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-collaborative-insights-strangers-friends.html

analyticsAnalysis

Propaganda Score

confidence: 100%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8

schedule Pending 3

verified Verified By Reference 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “The researchers also found that same-age pairs were more likely to draw at the same time, whereas intergenerational pairs took turns more often.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Over a period of six weeks, 61 pairs met six times to draw together.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm the study involved 61 pairs who met six times to draw together. (Wikipedia results provided were irrelevant noise).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 61 may refer to: 61 (number), the natural number following 60 and preceding 62. one of the years 61 BC, AD 61, 1961, 2061. In some countries, a slang name for the Cyrillic letter Ы. 61*, a 2001 Amer…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/61

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 61* is a 2001 American sports drama television film directed and co-executive produced by Billy Crystal and written by Hank Steinberg. It stars Barry Pepper as Roger Maris and Thomas Jane as Mickey Ma…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/61*

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Highway 61 may refer to: Highway 61 Revisited, 1965 album by Bob Dylan "Highway 61 Revisited" (song), the title track from the album Highway 61 (film), 1991 film by Bruce McDonald Highway 61 (soundtr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_61

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “In the same-age pairs, it was the other way around: They started with lower synchrony, which increased over the course of the six weeks.”

CORROBORATED

Although the 'Evidence for claim 7' section was empty, the evidence provided for claim 6 explicitly contains the confirmation: 'In the same-age pairs, it was the other way round: they started with lower synchrony, which increased over the course of the six weeks.'

verified

Claim 4: “The participants came from a younger age group (18 to 35 years) and an older age group (70 to 85 years) and were divided into 31 cross-generational pairs and 30 pairs of the same age.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant adult content and unrelated Wikipedia entries (30 Rock, etc.). No relevant evidence was found to confirm the specific age ranges or the division of pairs.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 30 Rock is an American satirical surrealist sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from 2006 to 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as Saturday Night Live's…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_Rock

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 30 by 30 (or 30 × 30) is a global initiative for governments to designate 30% of Earth's land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030. The target was proposed by a 2019 article in Science Advances, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_by_30

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Route 31 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States. It runs 48.93 miles (78.75 km) from U.S. Route 206/U.S. Route 1 Business (US 206/US 1 Bus.) in Trenton, Mercer County, north to an intersectio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Route_31

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “In the cross-generational pairs, brain synchrony was higher at the start—and it decreased from week to week”

CORROBORATED

Three independent sources confirm that in cross-generational pairs, brain synchrony was higher at the start and decreased over time.

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web search NEUTRAL — In cross-generational pairs, brain synchrony started higher and then decreased from week to week.Higher synchrony at the start of cross-generational meetings may not mean the pairs were closer right a…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/drawing-together…

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web search NEUTRAL — "In the cross-generational pairs, brain synchrony was higher at the start – and it decreased from week to week," as researcher Moffat shares. "In the same-age pairs, it was the other way round: they s…
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260820/Cross-generationa…

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web search NEUTRAL — In same-age pairs, neural synchrony began at a lower level and increased steadily over the six weeks as the participants grew closer. In contrast, cross-generational pairs showed the opposite trajecto…
https://www.bioscience.com.pk/en/subject/psychology/how-does…

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Claim 6: “In both groups, brain synchrony was higher when the pairs drew together than when the individuals drew separately.”

CORROBORATED

Evidence provided under claim 3 explicitly states: 'People who drew together showed more similar brain activity than when they drew separately.'

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Claim 7: “Her study has now been published in the journal PLOS Biology.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources explicitly state that the study was published in the journal PLOS Biology.

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web search NEUTRAL — Publication details. Ryssa Moffat et al, Social interactions between people of same and different generations shape longitudinal changes in interpersonal neural synchrony, loneliness, and social conne…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-collaborative-insights-strange…

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web search NEUTRAL — Moffat, a postdoctoral researcher at the Social Brain Sciences Lab within the Chair of Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, followed pairs of people as they met repeatedly for shared drawing sessions. T…
https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/drawing-together-revea…

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web search NEUTRAL — Moffat’s study takes a different approach here from many earlier studies on brain synchrony. These assumed that two people experiencing something together process similar stimuli – and that their brai…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-brain-research-offers-…

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Claim 8: “One state... lasted significantly longer in the intergenerational pairs than in the same-age pairs. In this state, the synchronization between the two brains was comparatively low.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “The researchers identified seven so-called "two-brain states" that remained remarkably stable throughout the entire six-week study period.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “the researchers recorded participants' brain activity with wearable brain sensors.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the use of wearable brain sensors (specifically mentioning devices tracking blood flow through the scalp) to record brain activity.

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web search NEUTRAL — At each session, the researchers recorded participants' brain activity with wearable brain sensors. This enabled the researchers to investigate how the process of getting to know one another was refle…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-collaborative-insights-strange…

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web search NEUTRAL — To measure brain activity, the team used wearable devices that track blood flow through the scalp using light. Two participants wore these devices at once, letting researchers detect when both brains …
https://studyfinds.com/draw-together-brains-sync/

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web search NEUTRAL — The researchers validated the data collected during this proof-of-concept study against data obtained from commercially available dry contact EEG headsets and lactate-containing blood samples. The dat…
https://today.ucsd.edu/story/NatureBME2023

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Claim 11: “Two ETH Zurich studies challenge this idea by examining the brain activity of younger and older adults who drew together over several weeks.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that ETH Zurich conducted studies on brain activity of younger and older adults drawing together over several weeks.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A new study, published in PLOS Biology , suggests that when younger and older adults regularly participate in creative activities together, their brains coordinate differently over time compared to pa…
https://www.psypost.org/tracking-brain-waves-reveals-a-surpr…

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web search NEUTRAL — ETH Zurich. Researchers investigated the brain activity of younger and older people while they interacted—and the results are surprising. What happens in the brain when two people engage in joint crea…
https://www.futurity.org/how-strangers-become-friends-brains…

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web search NEUTRAL — Two ETH Zurich studies challenge this idea by examining the brain activity of younger and older adults who drew together over several weeks. Despite growing closer, the similarity of their brain activ…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-collaborative-insights-strange…

help

Claim 12: “In a second study published in the journal Acta Psychologica, the researchers provide insights into why brain synchrony differs between younger and older people.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results regarding a second study published in Acta Psychologica.

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Claim 13: “Ryssa Moffat... is a postdoctoral researcher at the Social Brain Sciences Lab within the Chair of Cognitive and Social Neuroscience.”

CORROBORATED

Three separate sources confirm Ryssa Moffat's role as a postdoctoral researcher at the Social Brain Sciences Lab within the Chair of Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at ETH Zurich.

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web search NEUTRAL — Postdoctoral Researcher, Social Brain Sciences Lab, ETH Zürich (June 2023 - present).At ETH Zurich, I currently teach a course titled “The Cutting Edge of Social Brain Imaging” at ETH Zurich and enjoy…
https://ryssamoffat.github.io/

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web search NEUTRAL — ETH cognitive scientist Ryssa Moffat investigated this question. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Social Brain Sciences Lab within the Chair of Cognitive and Social Neuroscience.
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-collaborative-insights-strange…

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web search NEUTRAL — ETH cognitive scientist, Ryssa Moffat investigated this question. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Social Brain Sciences Lab within the Chair of Cognitive and Social Neuroscience.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-brain-research-offers-…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.