Comparing design students’ inter-brain synchrony between face-to-face and online collaborations

The rapid digitalisation of design education has fundamentally altered how students collaborate; however, the cognitive and neurophysiological dynamics underlying online creative co-creation remain poorly understood. To address this, we conducted an exploratory pilot study (N = 11 dyads) employing a multimodal paradigm that integrated behavioural protocol analysis with fNIRS hyperscanning. Specifically, this study examined the effects of collaborative modality (face-to-face versus online via Zoom) and interactional behaviours between design students on neural coupling, utilising Phase Locking Value (PLV) to quantify inter-brain synchrony (IBS). The results revealed an inversion between observable behaviour and underlying neural synchrony. In face-to-face settings, dyads spent the majority of their time communicating verbally, yet their highest levels of IBS were associated with sketching. Conversely, although participants sketched significantly more often in the online environment, the neural coupling previously associated with sketching collapsed. Instead, verbal communication emerged as the primary correlate of enhanced IBS in the digital space. These initial findings indicate that online collaborative dyads may rely more heavily on explicit verbal channels to maintain cognitive alignment. Crucially, because generative “Solution Space” activities inherently demand the visual externalisation of ideas, this disruption of sketching-associated neural coupling raises the theoretical hypothesis that remote environments may leave students more susceptible to misaligned mental models or design fixation during the solution exploration phases. It also highlights a critical avenue for future outcome-based research.