How shared stress brings people together

"Tell me, have you ever heard of people being put in difficult situations in real life, only to power through it together and end up closer to each other?" Dr. Wong asks.

"Sure, I've heard of this plenty of times. Can't recall a specific example. But I've seen it happen in movies," Lauren answers.

"That's what I am studying. I want to see how two people put in uncomfortable positions can work together. To see if they start developing empathy and a bond for one another," Dr. Wong replies.

"What kind of uncomfortable positions?" Lauren asks skeptically.

"It's a surprise. Don't worry about it," Dr. Wong says dismissively.

"So I'm just going to be paired with a stranger and put through some stressful situations," Lauren surmises.

"Not exactly," Dr. Wong says while rubbing her chin. "You see, I've tested people with positive relationships and neutral relationships. What I want to test now is people with a negative relationship."

"Negative relationship?" Lauren questions.

"People who you aren't on the best terms with. Such as former friends, rivals, enemies, etc.," Dr. Wong replies.

"Wait, I have to be paired up with someone I hate?!" Lauren replies indignantly. This was supposed to be easy extra credit. But now she has to work with someone she hates in an uncomfortable position. This is going to be a long day.

"Not just hate," Dr. Wong explains. "We have watched and observed you very closely in order to collect data on your behavior and mental state. We then used that data and compared it to the data we collected from several potential candidates in order to find the most similar match. We were able to find a perfect candidate for you. Not only do you two have a negative relationship, but her data is almost identical to yours. You two have more in common than you realize."

Lauren scoffs at that idea before asking, "So who did I match with?"

"She was here a few minutes ago. She also needs to boast her grade. She stepped outside to make a phone call," Dr. Wong replies. "She should be back right about now."

Right on cue, the door opens.