Abstract
Social interaction is fundamental to the development of various aspects of “we-ness”. Previous research has focused on the role the content of interaction plays in establishing feelings of unity, belongingness and shared reality (a cluster of variables referred to as solidarity here). The present paper is less concerned with content, but focuses on the form of social interaction. We propose that the degree to which conversations flow smoothly or not is, of itself, a cue to solidarity. We test this hypothesis in samples of unacquainted and acquainted dyads who communicate via headsets. Conversational flow is disrupted by introducing a delay in the auditory feedback (vs. no delay). Results of three studies show that smoothly coordinated conversations (compared with disrupted conversations and a control condition) increase feelings of belonging and perceptions of group entitativity, independently of conversation content. These effects are driven by the subjective experience of conversational flow. Our data suggest that this process occurs largely beyond individuals' control. We conclude that the form of social interaction is a powerful cue for inferring group solidarity. Implications for the impact of modern communication technology on developing a shared social identity are discussed.
Highlights
Audiovisual communication plays an increasingly important role in everyday human interaction
Social interaction is a forum for social comparison [4,5], and it is necessary for the emergence of socially shared realities, including the very notions of ‘‘I’’ and ‘‘we’’ [6,7,8]
The subjective experience of flow mediated the effects of manipulated flow on feelings of belonging and entitativity
Summary
Audiovisual communication plays an increasingly important role in everyday human interaction. Social interaction plays a role in the ‘‘bottom-up’’ induction of shared social identities: A feeling of we-ness in which a heightened sense of group entitativity, shared cognition and social identification are closely meshed [9,10]. In such interactive group settings, a sense of ‘‘we-ness’’ emerges that is characterized by feelings of unity, belongingness and shared reality which, clearly distinct in some sense, are closely interrelated. We propose that beyond these utilitarian and meaning-conveying functions, the shape of social interaction may engender feelings of solidarity at a more basic, visceral level. This is because social interaction conveys a quality of coordination, which is in itself a key feature of solidarity
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