The Role of Target-Specific Shared Reality in Interpersonal Interactions and Protective Health Behaviors

Shared reality—the experience of sharing common inner states (e.g., feelings, beliefs) with other people about a given topic or target—is a ubiquitous human experience. With research on the construct of shared reality burgeoning in various domains, we examined a fundamental, yet understudied topic: the role of experiencing shared reality about a target in real-time conversations and real-world contexts. Across five studies conducted in various contexts (total N= 973), we developed a measure of target-specific shared reality (SR-T) and examined its role in interpersonal interactions and protective health behaviors. In our initial Studies (1a-2), we developed a measure of SR-T and establish psychometric, construct, and criterion validity. In Study 3, we established predictive validity by investigating the link between SR-T and important interpersonal interaction constructs (e.g., interpersonal rapport and epistemic trust in the partner). In Study 4 (preregistered), SR-T moderated the effect of close others’ attitudes on vaccination and precautionary behaviors against COVID-19 during the Omicron-variant peak (2022). Our findings suggest that the experience of target-specific shared reality, assessed with a valid measure, is linked to important dimensions of interpersonal interactions and health decisions in the real world.