Throughout his career, Wouter has studies how humans use their capacity to share mental states with others to engage in unique forms of social bonding (e.g., dancing, singing, or watching a movie together). Conducting his research, he found that human adults, and even young children feel closer to each other after minimally shared experiences, such as watching a movie in joint attention. Furthermore, his research showed that humans share some of these psychological mechanisms with great apes, although humans seem to have an additional 'common ground' mechanism in place, allowing us to create social closeness by realizing that we both know that we both know that we are sharing an experience together.

In addition, Wouter has also conducted research on the Liking Gap, a social illusion in which, following an interaction, individuals consistently think their interaction partner likes them less than they themselves like their interaction partner. This social illusion is particularly impactful in understanding one’s social relationships.