New Research Reveals How Casual Interactions With Strangers Can Reduce Loneliness

Researcher Taylor N. West—along with colleagues from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the University of South Carolina—explores micro-intervention and its effects on reducing loneliness and enhancing well-being.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | October 28, 2024

A new study published in The Journal of Positive Psychology found that a new micro-intervention improved the emotional quality of participants' interactions with acquaintances and strangers, which led to lower loneliness and better mental health.

I recently spoke to lead author Taylor West from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about how casual interactions with strangers can reduce loneliness and enhance well-being—as well as the role of a new micro-intervention in fostering these connections.

What inspired you to investigate the topic of social connections with acquaintances and strangers?

We often focus on our close relationships when we think about connection, but even with strong connections, modern life can still feel isolating. I was surprised to learn that even casual, ordinary interactions with people we don't know matter for our well-being. But these interactions also do more than that.

These seemingly mundane interactions while out and about are actually what make us feel a part of society and give us a sense of belonging. When we have higher-quality interactions with people we don't know, we also help build trust and kindness in the community.

I think we as a society have really overlooked how simply having more positive, genuine interactions with strangers may be a way to help heal and connect people within communities.

Can you give a brief description of the micro-intervention, how it worked and what role AI played in improving social connections?

In our intervention, participants watched a psychoeducational video on the benefits of either improving social connection with acquaintances and strangers or practicing proper breathing techniques, which served as our control group.

After the video, participants engaged in conversation with a virtual human to identify potential opportunities and obstacles to carrying out their assigned health behavior. This kind of planning conversation is known to help people translate intentions into actual changes in behavior. Participants were then asked to carry out their assigned behavioral goal for 24 hours.

The benefit of interacting with a virtual human is that it poses a practical solution for scalability, but also research has shown that for some topics, people tend to feel more open and less judged when discussing with a virtual human or AI bot, compared to a human.

In our study, for experimental control, this virtual human was controlled by a hidden experimenter in another room, and not driven by AI. However, these findings have significant implications for developing scalable AI-based avatars to facilitate similar interventions in the near future.

How can individuals, especially those who are introverted or shy, improve the quality of their connections with acquaintances or strangers?

I would say to start with small, approachable moments in public spaces that feel comfortable and familiar. Start by making eye contact and smiling as you pass by others. From there, build up to brief interactions—greet and thank people or offer a compliment.

To spark conversation, ask open-ended questions or ask follow-up questions. Remember that it is not necessarily about increasing the number of interactions you have, but making them more genuine and heartfelt.

In your opinion, how can AI help people improve their social skills without becoming overly dependent on it to reduce loneliness?

AI has the potential to serve as an aid for developing social skills, but is not a substitute for genuine human connection. AI may be utilized to provide an initial safe space for people to practice difficult conversations, share personal difficulties or improve social skills without fear of human judgment.

One significant benefit of AI is its accessibility, which can make mental health support more available to those who face financial or logistical barriers to traditional services. The key here is for AI to act as a starting point for people to build skills and confidence that individuals then carry into real-life interactions and relationships.

How did your findings show an impact on mental health and well-being, especially in reducing loneliness?

For one, we found that the quality of people's interactions with strangers and acquaintances was associated with lower loneliness and greater mental health, with effects comparable to those of the quality of interactions with close others. This suggests that both types of connections are essential for well-being. Loneliness may not be alleviated by focusing solely on close relationships.

Participants who conversed with our virtual human about connecting with strangers and acquaintances showed significant increases in the quality of their interactions. We know this because that's how people described the interactions they had that day, and also we observed it in their behavior in the lab.

Do you think the benefits of this micro-intervention are sustainable over time? How can individuals maintain these improvements?

While we show that this brief micro-intervention boosts the quality of social connection with strangers and acquaintances, like any health behavior, the benefits of quality connection with strangers and acquaintances build over time and matter most when they become internalized habits. This research was supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.