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Cited by 189Action Observation and SynchronizationChild and Animal Learning DevelopmentSocial Robot Interaction and HRI

How interpersonal synchrony facilitates early prosocial behavior

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Cirelli, Laura K·2018·Current Opinion in Psychology
DOI 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.08.009
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Abstract

When infants and children affiliate with others, certain cues may direct their social efforts to 'better' social partners. Interpersonal synchrony, or when two or more people move together in time, can be one such cue. In adults, experiencing interpersonal synchrony encourages affiliative behaviors. Recent studies have found that these effects also influence early prosociality-for example, 14-month-olds help a synchronous partner more than an asynchronous partner. These effects on helping are specifically directed to the synchronous movement partner and members of that person's social group. In older children, the prosocial effects of interpersonal synchrony may even cross group divides. How synchrony and other cues for group membership influence early prosociality is a promising avenue for future research.

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  • The finding that seated spectators had high synchrony with actors is consistent with the idea that watching dance or theatre can involve action simulation, since performing and watching actions can elicit similar responses in the brain via mirror neurons.

    “This finding is consistent with the idea that watching dance (or theatre) can involve action simulation [8], since performing and watching actions can elicit similar responses in the brain via mirror neurons [45].”

    From Using Wearable Sensors to Measure Interpersonal Synchrony in Actors and Audience Members During a Live Theatre Performance (2023) · cites this paper as [8]

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References 49 · Cited by 189

Research works printed but not linked: 33

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Authors
Cirelli, L. K.
Affiliations
University of Toronto (CA)
Corresponding author
Cirelli, Laura K
ORCID
Cirelli, Laura K
Venue
Current Opinion in Psychology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-04
Volume
20
Pages
35-39
ISSN
2352-250X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.08.009
OpenAlex
W2742970006
Cited by
189
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 6
FWCI
3.15
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Current Opinion in Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • TSpace (University of Toronto) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
Keywords
interpersonal synchrony, prosocial behavior, helping behavior, infant social development, social affiliation, synchronous movement
MeSH terms
Adult, Child, Cooperative Behavior, Cues, Empathy, Helping Behavior, Humans, Infant, Interpersonal Relations, Music Therapy, Oxytocin, Social Behavior

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