ORCID

Abstract

Interpersonal synchrony can enhance social bonding, cooperation, and reduce negative biases, especially toward out-group members. However, studying social synchrony faces practical challenges. To address this, we introduce a customizable virtual reality (VR) application and report two experiments evaluating its effectiveness. In the first experiment, participants drummed either in sync or out of sync with a virtual partner matching their gender, age, and ethnicity. Synchronous drumming increased feelings of affiliation but did not influence pro-social behavior in an economic game. The second experiment involved Caucasian participants drumming with Middle Eastern avatars. Synchronous drumming not only increased trust and affiliation but also reduced prejudicial attitudes toward Middle Eastern refugees. These findings suggest that virtual synchrony can strengthen social bonds and decrease bias, offering both theoretical insights and practical applications.

Publication Date

2025-04-28

Publication Title

Frontiers in Psychology

Volume

16

ISSN

1664-1078

Acceptance Date

2025-04-04

Deposit Date

2025-05-08

Funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This study was partially supported by the Cooperative Research Grant (RIEC Tohoku University) and a Research Investment Fund (Edge Hill University).

Keywords

cohesion, cooperation, coordination, joint action, prejudice, pro-sociality, synchrony, virtual reality

First Page

1536761

Last Page

1536761

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