Which parts of the practice do the work: present-moment attention, disclosure, or hearing how you affect others?
Synchronous Smiles and Hearts: Dyadic Meditations Enhance Closeness and Prosocial Behavior in Virtual and In-Person Settings
Adjacent
Two minutes of a partner meditation, gazing at each other while contemplating shared humanity, raised closeness by about one standard deviation, and partners’ smiles and heart rates fell into sync.
In the “Just-Like-Me” meditation, two people gaze at each other while contemplating sentences about their shared humanity. Compared with mutual gazing alone and with solitary meditation, it increased closeness both online and in person, and more than gazing did in person. Partners’ smiles synchronised, and in person so did their heart rates; smiling synchrony predicted how positively partners saw the encounter.
It is the closest published template for testing one ingredient of a practice like Circling against a stripped-down version of itself.
What it doesn’t show
Two-minute exercises between strangers, measured straight afterwards. Not preregistered, and not Circling.
Directions that build on it
- Active ingredients
- Bodies in synchrony
Do participants’ physiology and movement synchronise during a circle, and does synchrony track felt connection?
Links
Cite
Ludwig, V. U., Prieur, L., Rennie, S. M., Beswerchij, A., Weintraub, D., Berry, B., Wey, J., Candido, K., & Platt, M. L. (2025). Synchronous Smiles and Hearts: Dyadic Meditations Enhance Closeness and Prosocial Behavior in Virtual and In-Person Settings. Mindfulness, 16(6), 1719–1744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-025-02588-7