A longitudinal fNIRS hypercanning data set of same generation and intergenerational relationship development and collaboration

Social disconnection (i.e., loneliness and social isolation) poses a severe risk to health and is particularly prevalent among older adults. Qualitative and behavioural evidence suggests that intergenerational social interactions can mitigate social disconnection by offering opportunities for adults to form new social connections, yet the neurophysiological and kinematic processes underpinning relationship formation remain poorly understood. This article presents and validates the InterGenSynchrony Dataset – a longitudinal, multimodal hyperscanning dataset acquired during a 6-session program, where 30 same generation and 31 intergenerational dyads met as strangers and became acquainted through creative drawing. The dataset includes dyads’ concurrent recordings of brain activity (i.e., fNIRS hyperscanning), motion capture, self-report measures including loneliness, collaborative behavioural scores, drawings (artefacts of collaboration), subjective experiences in text and interview forms. This dataset is optimised for multimodal investigations into the neural, physiological, behavioural, kinematic, and subjective aspects of relationship formation within and between generations in a real-world setting.