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1-Page Summary of Social

Overview

The answer is that it’s your self—that set of preferences, ideas and desires which molds your character and sets you apart from others. It’s a well-established idea but is it true?

Psychologist Daniel Lieberman suggests that we are social creatures and the way we operate is defined by our social behavior.

Socialization is an important part of our development as humans. It’s what allows us to connect with others and understand each other. In fact, it’s one of the most basic parts of our growth as a human being. It can also help you be more successful in life because socializing helps you understand people better, which will allow you to do better at work and achieve your goals faster.

In this article, you will learn about the importance of volunteering. It can make you happier than a pay raise and it’s easy to do. You’ll also learn how we “read” other people’s intentions and desires as well as why self-restraint is important in social situations.

Big Idea #1: Our brains have a built-in passion for thinking socially.

In 1997, Gordon Schulman and his colleagues at Washington University were interested in the human brain. They wanted to know what it was doing when it wasn’t engaged in any specific task. The answer they found surprised them: When we’re resting, a part of the brain known as the “default network” springs into action. So why would our minds turn on when we’re switching off?

When we’re not occupied, our minds wander to social things. We think about how we fit into society and how others relate to us. Scientists call this “social thinking.” Research indicates that it always happens in the same part of the brain, which suggests that humans are designed with a special tool for understanding social relationships.

The default network is a product of evolution that nudges us into using our downtime to dwell on human interaction. For example, babies are born with the ability to reflect on their surroundings and interact with people before they have developed conscious thought.

As a result, we spend an extraordinary amount of time thinking about social interactions. For example, 70% of what we talk about is related to that topic. If we consider the fact that our default networks are active for at least 20% of the 15 hours per day when we’re awake, then it follows that during those three hours, we think about social things.

To put that into perspective, consider Malcolm Gladwell’s claim in his book Outliers that it takes 10,000 hours of practice before we become experts at anything. That means we’re all experts on social living by the age of ten!

Big Idea #2: Human brains naturally encourage social connection, which is why social pain hurts so much.

The human brain is a complex machine that can generate amazing ideas. However, it takes time to develop these ideas because the brain needs care and attention in order to grow properly. And this development happens through social interaction with others around us.

Newborn children are incapable of taking care of themselves. They need someone to provide them with food and water, as well as other things that they may need in their first years. Luckily, all mammals have a way of making sure they get the care they deserve: crying when something threatens their bond with the primary caregiver.

Psychologist John Bowlby showed that humans have an inbuilt system that monitors our caregivers’ physical proximity. This triggers distress when they’re too far away, which is why we cry. Adults are naturally receptive to these signals and feel pain when they hear their children crying because it moves them to do something about the situation.