Leader–follower behavioural coordination and neural synchronization during intergroup conflict

Leaders can launch hostile attacks on out-groups and organize in-group defence. Whether groups settle the conflict in their favour depends, however, on whether followers align with leader’s initiatives. Yet how leader and followers coordinate during intergroup conflict remains unknown. Participants in small groups elected a leader and made costly contributions to intergroup conflict while dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity was simultaneously measured. Leaders were more sacrificial and their contribution influenced group survival to a greater extent during in-group defence than during out-group attacks. Leaders also had increased DLPFC activity when defending in-group, which predicted their comparatively strong contribution to conflict; followers reciprocated their leader’s initiatives the more their DLPFC activity synchronized with that of their leader. When launching attacks, however, leaders and followers aligned poorly at behavioural and neural levels, which explained why out-group attacks often failed. Our results provide a neurobehavioural account of leader–follower coordination during intergroup conflict and reveal leader–follower behavioural/neural alignment as pivotal for groups settling conflicts in their favour. Applying functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning in intergroup conflict, the authors provide evidence that leaders and followers show behavioural synchronization, as well as neural synchronization in the prefrontal cortex.