Solutions to the problem of diminished social interaction

Original article:

Solutions to the problem of diminished social interaction

Evolutionary Psychology 6(4): 637-651 Peter K. Jonason, Department of Psychology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA, pjonason@nmsu.eduGregory D. Webster, Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USAA. Elizabeth Lindsey, Department of Communication Studies, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA

Abstract

Social animals, like humans, need to interact with others, but this is not always possible. When genuine social interaction is lacking, individuals may seek out or use sources of interaction that co-opt agency detection mechanisms vis-à-vis the human voice and images of people, called social snacking. Study 1 (N = 240) found that ratings of how alone participants felt were correlated with frequency of talking to themselves and using the TV for company. Study 2 (N = 66) was a daily diary study where loneliness was correlated with both Study 1 behaviors and singing to oneself. These solutions essentially trick the person's brain into feeling like they are socially interacting, thus, appeasing the relative dependence humans have on social interaction. Social snacking may satisfy one’s need for social interaction because humans are unlikely to be able to differentiate between virtual and real people because this distinction did not exist in ancestral environments.

Keywords

agency detection, social snacking, evolutionary psychology, loneliness

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