Name: Sarah Kim
Master’s Thesis Defense Meeting
Date: Thursday, October 3rd , 2024
Time: 3PM EST
Location: https://gatech.zoom.us/j/92839529609
Thesis Chair/Advisor: Hsiao-Wen Liao, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Thesis Committee Members:
Hsiao-Wen Liao, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Paul Verhaeghen , Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Sarah Barber, Ph.D. (Georgia State)
Title: Can Synchronized Activities Promote Positive Sentiments Of The Young Toward The Old?
Abstract: Younger adults often hold negative perceptions toward older adults, which can compromise intergenerational relationships and social disharmony. The present study centers on interpersonal synchrony as a potential intervening venue. Past research that examined subjects within the same generation has shown that synchronous activities enhance positive interpersonal interactions. The present study is aimed to clarify whether past findings can be generalized to people in different age groups. Adopting a pre-test and post-test design, this study tested whether synchronous walking promotes positive sentiments of younger adults toward older adults with respect to perceived self-other merging, connectedness, impression, prosocial intentions and behaviors, and conversation engagement. Participants (N = 51; 64.7% female) first completed a battery of questionnaires online via Qualtrics. After a few days, they were paired up with an older partner and engaged in tasks. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (i.e., synchronous walking, asynchronous walking, and no walking) and completed questionnaires assessing their sentiments toward the older partner. Results of a series of one-way repeated measures ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and chi-square test of independence revealed that synchronous walking significantly enhanced younger people’s perceived self-other merging, connectedness, impressions, and prosocial behaviors toward their older partner compared to asynchronous walking or no walking. While having conversations also improved connectedness and impressions, synchronous walking presented stronger effects on self-other merging and prosocial behaviors. The present study extends past research on interpersonal synchrony to the context of aging. It sheds light on intervention practices for improving young people’s sentiments toward older adults.