INTERNSHIP PROPOSAL

Collective dynamics of audience applause and emotional synchronization

We are excited to offer an internship opportunity focusing on collective audience responses in theaters. We will focus on processing and analyzing audio signals, such as synchronized applause in the audience. Synchronized applause is a well-observed example of collective behavior in human, yet its spatial-temporal propagation is not fully understood [1,2]. Combining data analysis and computational modeling, the internship will use real data collected in theaters by the Grèzes team [3], to investigate how individuals interact with each other to give rise to the observed spatiotemporal patterns of synchronization. The intern will investigate different measure of synchronization and extend traditional methods from dyads to groups, and to include time delays. We will also explore the connection between applause synchronization and the collective emotional experience of the audience, for example how much they enjoy the play, and correlate it with other measures of the audience's psychological state. Another possible direction of the internship is to investigate analytically how anticipation and prediction may affect the global dynamics of collective applause, for example through numerically simulations of coupled oscillators. 

Knowledge of programming and strong motivation to work closely with data are expected. Experience of modeling and quantitative analysis is preferred.

This internship is co-supervised by Xiaowen Chen (LPENS) and Julie Grèzes (DEC, ENS). Interested individuals are invited to contact us at Xiaowen.chen@phys.ens.fr and julie.grezes@ens.psl.eu.

Internship location : LPENS / DEC, ENS, Paris 5ème

Duration: 2~6 months, can be discussed

Start: ideally February/March, can be discussed

Level: M1, M2

References:

[1] Z Néda, E Ravasz, T Vicsek, Y Brechet, A Barabási, Physics of the rhythmic applause (2000).

[2] Q Michard and J-P Bouchaud, Theory of collective opinion shifts: from smooth trends to abrupt swings (2005).

[3] O. Simonot-Bérenger, V Chung, J Pelletier, J Grèzes, Collective effervescence mediates the effect of individual emotion on spectators’ enjoyment of theatrical performances (2025).