Title: Symmetry and the Behavioral Dynamics of Joint-Action and Social Coordination

A fundamental feature of social behavior is face-to-face or co-present physical interaction. The success of such joint-action, whether measured in terms of social connection, goal achievement, or the ability of individuals to understand and predict the meaningful intentions and behaviors of others, is not only dependent on numerous neural-cognitive processes, but also on the physical and informational processes of perceptual-motor coordination. Understanding and modeling the dynamics of these coordination processes, including how they emerge and are maintained over time, as well as how differing stable states of coordination are activated, dissolved, and transformed is therefore imperative. Here, I will discuss previous research aimed at identifying behavioral dynamics of interpersonal and multi-agent perceptual-motor coordination and how symmetry and symmetry-breaking principles operate to constrain and shape the self-organized order of such behavior. In turn, I will argue that the behavioral dynamics of perceptual-motor coordination not only lawfully express the physical, informational, and neural-cognitive relations that underlie successful joint-action, but also operate to enslave the behavioral intentions, action strategies, and cognitive processes of socially situated co-acting individuals.