Psychological Distance Moderates the Amplification of Shared Experience

Abstract

Sharing an experience with another person can amplify that experience. Here, we propose for the first time that amplification is moderated by the psychological distance between co-experiencers. We predicted that experiences would be amplified for co-experiencers who are psychologically proximate but not for co-experiencers who are psychologically distant. In two studies we manipulated both (a) whether or not a pleasant experience was shared and (b) the psychological distance between co-experiencers, via social distance (Study 1) and spatial distance (Study 2). In Study 1, co-experiencers either were unacquainted (i.e., strangers, socially distant) or became acquainted in the laboratory (i.e., socially proximate). In Study 2, co-experiencers were either in different rooms (i.e., spatially distant) or in the same room (i.e., spatially proximate). In both studies, the pleasant experience was amplified when shared compared with when not shared, but only when co-experiencers were psychologically proximate (vs. distant) to one another.

Psychological distance in consumer psychology: Consequences and antecedents

“…Merely traveling in the same direction creates interpersonal attraction and relationship satisfaction (Huang, Dong, Dai, & Wyer, ) just as readily as merely eating the same food or eating from the same plate fosters trust, cooperation, and acceptance of advice (Woolley & Fishbach, , ). Sharing intensifies experience (Boothby, Clark, & Bargh, ; Boothby, Smith, Clark, & Bargh, ; Shteynberg, Hirsh, Apfelbaum, et al, ; Shteynberg, Hirsh, Galinsky, & Knight, ), and more intense or extraordinary experiences make people feel socially closer to one another (Min, Liu, & Kim, ). However, it is important to note that the same incidental sharing that can bring people together can also later pull them apart, as in the case of initial bonding followed later by competition in shared goal pursuit (Huang, Broniarczyk, Zhang, & Beruchashvili, ).…”

Wanting without enjoying: The social value of sharing experiences

“…self-report measures) were adapted from previous studies examining shared experiences (e.g. [7,8,9,25]) and based on prior findings, we expected that participants who engage in shared experience would report higher levels of emotional intensity or increased enjoyment relative to non-shared (solo) experiences. These studies employed a wide variety of contexts and stimuli: Study 1a employed an in-lab within-subjects design utilizing dyads of friends and enjoyable video clips; Study 1b employed an in-lab between-subjects design utilizing dyads of individuals acquainted at the lab and enjoyable video clips; Study 1c employed an in-lab between-subjects design utilizing an unfamiliar confederate acquainted in the lab, and three kinds of emotional video clips (happy, mixed emotions, and sad); Study 1d employed an online between-subjects design with enjoyable video clips.…”

“…"What's your favorite holiday?") back and forth in a getting acquainted task [8]. Participants were then led into a separate lab room, where they sat sideby-side, separated by a divider that blocked their view of the other participant and his or her computer screen.…”

The Joint Action Effect on Memory as a Social Phenomenon: The Role of Cued Attention and Psychological Distance

“…However, as a “basic dimension of meaning in a way similar to valence” (Liberman and Trope, 2014, p. 365), psychological distance is likely to affect a variety of other fundamental cognitive and emotional processes, including those related to memory formation. Indeed, psychological distance has recently been identified as a critical determinant of affective processing of socially shared experiences (Wagner et al, 2015; Boothby et al, 2016), and initial findings also point to an influence of psychological distance on mnemonic processes (Smith and Trope, 2006; Fukura et al, 2013). …”