Synchronous Smiles and Hearts: Dyadic Meditations Enhance Closeness and Prosocial Behavior in Virtual and In-Person Settings.

A two-minute shared-gazing exercise called Just-Like-Me (JLM), in which partners contemplate shared humanity while looking at each other, increased feelings of closeness by about one standard deviation both online and in person. The effect was larger than solitary meditation and, when done in person, larger than mutual gazing without contemplation. JLM also boosted prosocial behavior in a dictator game and induced synchrony in smiling and heart rates. Synchronized smiling partly explained the relational benefits. The findings suggest that brief dyadic meditations can foster social connection and may help address loneliness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Social connection is crucial for well-being and health. Dyadic meditations-contemplative practices carried out by two people together-have the potential to foster connection. In the dyadic "Just-Like-Me" (JLM) meditation, two participants gaze at each other while contemplating sentences emphasizing their shared humanity. We assessed the psychological impacts of this exercise, as well as the underlying mechanisms, by comparing it to two active control conditions: mutual gazing without contemplation and solitary meditation. Study 1 was a virtual study with 55 individuals who formed 100 experimental dyads, whereas Study 2 was an in-person study with 98 participants in 238 dyad pairings. Participants engaged in a 2-min JLM, gazing, or solitary meditation exercise (the latter only in Study 2). We recorded self-reported feelings, decisions on a hypothetical dictator game, facial expressions (Study 1), and heart rates (Study 2). Both JLM and gazing increased closeness with medium-to-large effect sizes both virtually and in person (~ 1 SD increase for JLM). JLM increased closeness more than gazing in person (medium-sized effect). Both exercises had small-to-medium effects on positive partner perceptions. In-person, dictator game allocations were higher following JLM than following solitary meditation. Both JLM and gazing induced synchronous smiling, with JLM producing stronger effects (Study 1). JLM induced synchronous heart rates (Study 2). Smiling synchrony predicted positive relational outcomes with small-to-medium effect sizes. Dyadic meditations, such as JLM and gazing, are effective in promoting closeness and prosocial behavior. Non-verbal and emotional synchrony between meditation partners is a potential mechanism facilitating these benefits. Dyadic meditation practices may contribute to addressing widespread loneliness and enhancing social dimensions of well-being. This study is not preregistered. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-025-02588-7.