The influence of interpersonal synchrony on helping behavior, social bonding, and empathy in children

Abstract

It has been shown that prosocial behaviors – such as helping and cooperation – can be increased through interpersonal synchrony. This effect can be seen in both large- and small- scale movements, with children experiencing greater preferences for those who synchronize with them. In the current study the influence of interpersonal synchrony on children’s empathy and helping behavior will be explored in typically developing children ages 3-12 years. In a replication of a spontaneous helping task developed by Kirschner & Tomasello (2010) fish food is spilt on the way to a fish tank, creating an opportunity for helping behaviour to occur at the cost of immediate gratification for the other child. Cognitive and affective empathy will be measured in an emotion assessment task using a 7-point Likert scale. We will also examine how the age of peer playmates affect these outcomes. Synchronous movement will be varied by children clapping to metronome sounds that are either in- or out- of synchrony. It is expected that helping behavior and empathy will be increased in the synchronous condition but remain unchanged in the non-synchronous condition. The synchronous condition is also expected to increase social bonding behaviors as indicated by greater eye-contact and increased shared and mutual smiles. Furthermore, we expect children will display greater empathy and helping towards same age peers than towards older age peers. The findings of this study may have implications for children with autism spectrum disorders, as training methods that improve inter-personal synchrony may enhance their social connections and prosocial abilities.

Faculty Mentor: Tara Vongpaisal

Department: Psychology