Jenna Mansoor
11/26/18
Social Interactions. The Science Behind a Daily Occurence
Intro.
We are faced with people everyday. Their moods and emotions. Their highs and lows. Every part of our lives is connected to the people around us. The world is built upon our daily interactions. Communication is an important part of life, without the ability to deliver ideas from one mind to another, nothing is possible. And while interaction is based on language, it's also comprised of a million small things we aren’t consciously aware of. It is the way we use language with tone, pitch, and variation changing and making our speaking interesting. Our body language, the way we use hand motions and facial expressions to communicate our emotions. The way our faces naturally reflect what we feel. Communication is more than just conversing, it is the way in which we speak and the way in which we act whilst speaking.
But how much do we really know about the details of human interaction? About how our brains process conversations or about the underlying rules of our society? This speech aims to convey relatively unknown information about the sciences behind human interaction and communication. It will be divided primarily into three points. The first being the brain science behind social interactions, followed by how interactions affect us and how this is studied through micro-sociology, and lastly a justification of the significance of this topic.
Main Body.
Point 1: Social Neuroscience.
The first science with which we are concerned is referred to as social neuroscience and is a research discipline, one which examines how the brain mediates social processes and behavior. Essentially, it is the study of people's social attitudes through biology. Whether it be through MRI video scans of the brains or through the measuring of a person's pulse. One earliest example of this scientific form being used was found in the 1950s under the research conducted by scientists Robert E. Rankin and Donald T. Campbell, recorded in their book The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology under the article “Galvanic skin response” published in 1955. The objective of the experiment was to find out the extent of racism that still existed. Problematically, the people who were tested would lie about their opinions due to a fear of being judged for their prejudices. So instead, Rankin and Campbell tested the participant's biological responses to people of different colors. Their experiment found that racism still existed at a significant rate. This use of biology to measure the attitude of the mind became popular as its effectiveness was made evident. Psychologists began to work with biologists in order to better understand the way in which the brain works.
With the technological advancements of the 20th century came a new era in social neuroscience, one in which it was possible to see video X-rays of the brain, referred to as fMRI. Through many recent discoveries the connection between our social interactions and the length of our life has been proven. Consider the studies done by Lisa F. Berkman and S. Leonard Syme, recorded in the American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 109, Issue 2, under the article “Social Networks, Host Resistance and Mortality”, published in February 1979. In their research they studied a large group of people from Alameda, California over the course of nine years. Noting their social statuses and the quality of their daily interactions, it was found that those who lacked social and community ties were more likely to die sooner. This is only one example of many. There are hundreds of experiments similar to this one which all boil down to one essential fact Social interaction is essential to human health.
Through the field of social neuroscience we've made huge leaps towards true understanding of how exactly we are effected by our interactions with others. Interestingly, it was revealed through use of video x-rays that the amygdala, a part of the brain whose purpose was previously unknown, is used to scan the mood of the situation. When a person with which we are interacting becomes angry our amygdala will scan for immediate danger, thus triggering our flight or fight or freeze response. Daniel Goleman, in his novel Social Intelligence, published in 2002, recounts the story of a patient who had previously suffered two strokes which destroyed the connection between his eyes and his brain. Theoretically, the patient could still see. The trouble was that his brain wasn't able to process the image. The connection that had linked his eyes to his brain was completely broken. Except, the patient could still recognize emotion. Baffled, the scientists looked into it. It was discovered that the eyes had connected with another part of the brain, the amygdala. Usually all visual senses enter the brain through the thalamus and then are sent to the visual cortex but the patient’s neural pathways showed that the information was sent to the amygdala. A sort of neural rerouting. From there the amygdala would dissect the emotional meaning depicted in the image. This story perfectly shows the intricacy of the human brain. The amygdala is of such importance that it cannot be overstated. In a person with normal vision the amygdala is used to read the emotional subtext of each interaction. It will read the defeat in a slouched posture, the anger in a whisper, the happiness around a person’s eyes.
Through all of these discoveries the importance of further study on the brain science behind our interactions is evident.
Point 2: Micro-sociology
Secondly, human interaction is also studied through other fields which deal less with the specific workings of our brains and more with psychological patterns. On the most elementary level, this social science is called sociology. A broad term which deals generally with society as a whole. More specifically there is the science of micro-sociology.
This particular science seeks to understand the effect people have on each other. For the sake of example, imagine you've entered a random lobby in order to ask for the location of the nearest restroom. Five seconds into being in the lobby you are approached by a furious security guard. One who begins to yell at you. Speaking in harsh words along the lines of, “You're not supposed to be in here! Get out!” In response you try to calm him down and apologize but He doesn't listen. Naturally you leave the lobby upset at having been yelled at. Daniel Goleman in his previously mentioned novel perfectly describes the result of such negative interactions. He says, “When someone dumps their toxic feelings on us—explodes in anger or threats, shows disgust or contempt— they activate in us circuitry for those very same distressing emotions.”
Micro-sociology studies the long lasting effects of even small interactions such as the one previously mentioned. Whether it be the joy a person feels after meeting a pleasant employee who makes them laugh or the frustration caused by a bland telephone voice saying, “Please hold.”
It seeks to understand the emotional subtext beneath every interaction and how this subtext affects us.
Primarily micro—sociology studies interactions through social experiments. Experiments in which scientists analyze the results of messing with societal norms and/or testing how people react to different people. The idea of breaching experiments was founded by Harold Garfinkel, a major contributor to micro-sociology, who famously instructed his students to act as though they were at a hotel when they returned home. The students were overly polite to their parents, pretended to not know the layout of the house, asked if it was okay every time they went to use the bathroom, etc. The parents of the students were unsurprisingly upset, some were even angry.
One author in particular, Jason Carr describes the purpose of such experiments in his article “Sociology in Action–the Breaching Experiment.” published on wiredcosmos.com in 2012. “Breaching experiments are planned and deliberate breaks of a commonly accepted social norm. The reactions to the breach is the crucial point of the experiment. If a reach is done correctly and the social norm is compromised, the reaction that people exhibit is the mechanism by which they try to make sense of the odd behavior or how they combat the behavior.” The idea is to define what normal is by doing things that are not normal and to highlight the often taken-for-granted rules of social interaction, as well as the results when rules are broken. Some would argue that interaction is a sort of game. If you follow the rules and act as society demands you will be rewarded with acceptance. If you break the underlying rules of society, people will rationalize your actions by declaring that you are mentally ill.
Through these experiments scientists are able to better examine the everyday workings of people as they interact with each other and therefore discover new ways in which we can learn to convey our emotions and ideas properly whilst fitting in with society.
And while people claim to understand perfectly the workings of their own society the truth is that most people are not actually consciously aware of the fact that society has many unspoken rules. A list of common examples is as follows: holding eye contact throughout the entirety of a conversation is strange and offensive, instead, the general rule is for the listener to watch the speaker and for the speaker to make occasional eye contact; when speaking hands should generally stay at your sides except when using gestures; random deviations from the conversation topic at hand are looked at with scrutiny; frank statements whether or not they’re truly offensive in nature are met with harsh criticism and so on and so forth.
Through the study of micro—sociology, scientists create a deeper understanding of the fundamental nature of human society in order to improve its condition.
Point 3: Importance of Social Interaction in Today's Society.
These before mentioned scientific fields have only recently come about with the technology of the twentieth century. All of the studies since have lead scientists to a seemingly obvious realization. The human brain is indeed wired to connect.
This realization has become concrete just in time for the decrease of social interaction. Just as scientists proved with sure evidence that humans need interaction, society has seen a decrease in that very thing.
The importance of understanding why humans are social cannot be over said. Especially in this generation. One which is slowly leading away from genuine connection with people and towards physical isolation with the advancement of technological. Social Anxiety Disorder affects 15 million adults, or 6.8% of the U.S. population, a statistic presented by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America on their website in 2018. And although awkwardness is often a label wrongly put on homeschoolers or other groups of people with a relatively low amount of social experience, it is slowly becoming a widespread epidemic. People are beginning to choose online interactions over physical ones. Interactions which lack the warmth and genuine connection of real life. And it makes sense. With the internet there is no risk factor. There's no way of feeling any consequence for failure if none of it is real to begin with. The constant need to be entertained pushes us away from people, slowly locking us into self-induced isolation. It is for this reason that reaching out to others is so important. It is for this reason that understanding the how of interaction is so very essential.
Conclusion
To summarize, this speech has covered three main subtopics. The first being the brain science behind our interactions, the second being micro-sociology the study of human interaction from an outside position, and lastly the justification of why this topic is significant.
To end, I would like to highlight the question of why as well as give an answer. Why are humans social creatures? For a Christian the answer to the first question can be answered simply in that God made it so. He made the process of communication both intricate and delicate. He gave each person a different capacity for interaction and communication. He gave us the ability to love others so that we could better understand the love that He holds for us. He made our souls so that we would be capable of love and understanding. And by studying the intricate world he made we can become better at expressing our love for others and sharing with them the love of Christ.
Thank you.