What is the relationship between explicit synchronised movement and pro-social behaviour in primary school children?

The proposed project will investigate the effect of interpersonal synchrony (i.e., movement matched in time between individuals, such in a dance or athletic setting) on the development of prosocial behaviour, with an eventual aim of developing of an educational intervention to help children with poor social integration skills. Robust research has shown that correlated rhythmic movements increase a sense of affiliation between young children, and my recent MSc work shows that visually-induced synchrony can promote not just prosocial feelings but also an enhanced sense of similarity for a 'virtual' child. This work has clear implications for educational settings, which relies on group-work within learning environments. Specifically, this project will study how different interpersonal synchrony experimental conditions (e.g.,auditory, visual, virtual reality and real person experience) can induce and enhance children's social perception of others within a peer group. I will focus on two age groups of children, across the typical spectrum of social intelligence: 1) 3- to 5- years of age (the beginning of formal education), and 2) 9- to11-years of age (the end of primary school, beginning of adolescence). I will study children within a school setting, in peer-dyads, and in the lab (in our own purpose built virtual reality system). Outcome variables of levels of trust, self-reported similarity and pro-social behaviours will be measured. The project will be a combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal work, with a cohort tested in year 1 of my PhD followed up through the next 2 years, in order to assess the usefulness of consistent synchrony work. The eventual aim is to translate this research into something that can be used by teachers to support social understanding across a spectrum of social deficits. This project is relevant to the ESRC remit of developmental and educational neuroscience, specifically is aimed at educational impact.