Synchronous Rhythmic Interaction Enhances Children’s Perceived Similarity and Closeness towards Each Other

Inter-personal synchronization is important for performing many cooperative tasks. Notably, synchrony has also been shown to have considerable positive social influences, possibly mediated by synchrony-induced changes in social attitude such as an increased sense of similarity and affiliation between interacting individuals. This effect has been demonstrated in adults, but it is unknown whether synchrony might have a similar impact on the social attitudes of children. We thus set to directly examine the influence of synchronous rhythmic interaction on perceived similarity and closeness in pairs of 8-9 year old children. We found that children who had participated in a synchronous interaction regarded their interacting partner as more similar and closer to themselves than children who had not interacted at all or who had taken part in an asynchronous interaction. These findings reveal that synchronous interaction can positively alter social attitudes between interacting children, suggesting a potential mechanism by which synchrony may enhance positive social interaction through attitudinal shift.