9781422270158

SOCIAL ISOLATION

ANGER BULLYING CHRONIC ILLNESS DIVORCE FOOD INSECURITY GRIEF IMMIGRATION SEXUAL ABUSE SOCIAL ISOLATION TEEN PREGNANCY

SOCIAL ISOLATION

Meg Olivier

MASON CREST M I A M I

Mason Crest PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2024 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4798-3 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4796-9 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7015-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Olivier, Meg, author. Title: Social isolation / Meg Olivier. Description: Hollywood, FL : Mason Crest, 2024. | Series: You are not alone | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023021026 | ISBN 9781422247983 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422270158 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Social isolation--Juvenile literature. | Social psychology--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC HM1131 .O45 2024 | DDC 302.5/45--dc23/eng/20230614 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023021026

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Why We Need People...........................07 Chapter 2: Effects of the Health Crisis Shutdown...21 Chapter 3: Social Isolation & Adolescents..............35 Chapter 4: Social Isolation vs. Loneliness..............49 Chapter 5: I Feel Socially Isolated . . . How Do I Get Help?.61 Chapter Notes....................................................72 Further Reading & Internet Resources..................77 Index................................................................. 78 Author Biography, Credits & Educational Video Links. ... 80 KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR: Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Testimonial Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with personal stories from peers that supplement the text. Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

circumplex: a graphical representation, using polar coordinates, of the interactions of a central entity loneliness: a distressing feeling due to a difference between a person’s actual level of social connection and their desired social connection neocortex: a part of the cerebral cortex concerned with sight and hearing in mammals, regarded as the most recently evolved part of the cortex sociality: the tendency to associate in or form social groups

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CHAPTER

The idea that humans are social beings is supported by science, specifically psychology. Typically defined as the study of human behavior, the field of psychology covers a variety of areas, which are known as branches. One branch is dedicated to studying human interactions— social psychology. However, other branches of psychology also influence this field. For example, evolutionary psychology studies the biology behind how humans evolved over time, and neuroscience looks at how our brain functions during social interactions. 1,6,8 This chapter aims to combine findings from multiple areas of psychology to explain why we need people. The Building Blocks of Human Interaction Before jumping into why we need people, it’s important to look at the components of human interaction. 12 1. Feelings –Our internal, subjective experience of emotions (sad, angry, happy). Feelings drive how to interact with others based on valence, control, and intensity. Positive valence is associated with friendliness, high control involves power over another, and intensity relates to the level of emotional activation. WHY WE NEED PEOPLE

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2. Non-verbal Communication –An evolutionary system of communicating which includes facial expressions, gestures, body language, and more. Actions like touching another person, leaning forward, making eye contact, and nodding are ways of expressing a good relationship with someone. These are known as immediacy stimuli. The strength of a relationship is determined by relaxation stimuli, like asymmetrical arm and leg positions, relaxed hands, and leaning sideways. Additionally, activity stimuli represent if a relationship is active or passive. For instance, slow movements indicate a more passive relationship, while talking faster and louder signals high activation. 3. Verbal Communication –Using spoken words to communicate (asking questions, saying hi, yelling). Verbal communication can be described by evaluation, potency, and activity. Evaluation determines if an interaction is positive or negative, potency relates to control, and activity relates to the intensity of human experiences. 4. Behavior –External reaction to a stimulus (pushing, hugging, running away). 5. Personality –A stable measure of a person’s interactions (extroversion, openness, conscientiousness). Prior research supports that there are 16 interpersonal mechanisms that classify behavior and personality perceptions. Commonly, these are visualized with the ‘interpersonal circumplex ,’ which forms a circle with 16 sectors. 7 Each of the areas mentioned above impacts how humans interact with others. For example, if a person is sad (feeling) after a conversation with a friend (verbal communication), they might frown (non-verbal communication).

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You Are Not Alone: Social Isolation

A person's behavioral reaction will depend on their feelings, their communication style, and their personality. For example, if someone is considered shy (personality), they might run away (behavior) from a situation that makes them feel bad. However, if someone is more extroverted (personality), their reaction could be different, like crying on a friend’s shoulder. Now that we understand the components of human interaction, let’s jump into the biological components of socialization. The following sections discuss how the human brain evolved to support increased interactions.

Experts say there are 16 different mechanisms at play during interactions with other people.

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Chapter 1: Why We Need People

The Evolution of Human Interactions The evolution of the human brain has shaped our social interactions. 5 According to Dunbar’s (1998) early research, the human social group size is estimated at 150, meaning that the average social network spans 150 people in most societies. To understand this, we’ll turn to the social brain hypothesis, which proposes that primates have large brains to support more complex social systems. 4 Social Brain Hypothesis Something that sets the primate brain apart from those of other mammals is its complex neocortex . The neocortex is the area of the brain associated with cognitive processes, making up 50-80% of the total primate brain volume. 4 Research shows that there is a relationship between the size of the neocortex and the level of sociality , which is typically measured by group size. Humans have a larger neocortex than other mammals and nonhuman primates and, therefore, have greater social skills.

THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE SOCIAL BRAIN HYPOTHESIS

We have different layers to our social circles. The closest five people make up our loved ones, followed by 15 good friends, 50 friends, and 150 meaningful contacts. However, beyond that, we can also support 500 acquaintances and recognize about 1500 people. 4

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You Are Not Alone: Social Isolation

The neocortex accounts for more than half the area of the human brain.

Evolutionary Social Psychology Buss (1990) argued that some of the most important problems humans had to solve over time were indeed social. 1 In terms of evolution, group cooperation was an adaptation that allowed humans to survive in difficult situations. For example, groups of people who collaborated to find food, shelter, and other basic necessities had better outcomes than those who fought against the group norms. 1 Evolutionary psychology offers explanations for several social relationships: 1. Friendship Humans seek out reciprocal relationships with others. This is because when both individuals benefit from the relationship, it reinforces its positive value. 14 It’s the natural give and take of friendships—one person helps, and the other eventually returns the favor.

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Chapter 1: Why We Need People

2. Parent-Child Relationships Parents feel a natural love toward their children, which leads them to invest significant amounts of time, energy, and effort into them, which can’t be matched in other social relationships. 2 3. Mating Relationships The fact that humans are a sexually reproducing species means that mating is essential to survival. As a result, we tend to form long-term relationships with our mates that differ from typical friendships and parent-child relationships. 3

The human mating relationship is essential for the survival of the species.

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You Are Not Alone: Social Isolation

Social Neuroscience Social neuroscience is the study of how the brain reacts to social situations. One part of this is knowing how others feel or think based on their expressions and actions. Two different mechanisms are proposed to explain how people know how others feel and think—mirroring and the theory of mind. 1. Mirroring It takes about 250 nanoseconds for information to go from the human visual cortex to the motor cortex. This automatic process called mirroring is what allows us to subconsciously understand someone’s intentions. 8 2. The theory of mind One interpretation of the theory of mind focuses on humans’ implicit social knowledge. From infancy to school age, children develop skills to understand others. For example, when babies make eye contact with a parent,

MIRROR NEURONS: THE MISSING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

Mirror neurons are brain cells that respond when we perform an action, as well as when we watch someone else do that same action. The first studies of mirror neurons were conducted by Italian neuroscientist Dr. Giacomo Rizzolatti at the University of Parma in the early 1990s and focused on macaque monkeys.

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Chapter 1: Why We Need People

they demonstrate that they’re aware of another person’s mental state. By school age, children begin to understand biases, moral dilemmas, and deception. 11 Functional Brain Imaging Functional brain imaging studies can also help us understand how humans are affected by social interactions. 8 For example, tasks like facial perception or joint social attention activate different areas of the brain. Simply seeing a face, identifying it, and knowing if it belongs to someone familiar engages parts of the temporal lobe and the prefrontal cortex. 8 Earlier, we explained that these parts of the brain are larger in humans, and now we can see how that influences cognitive processes related to social interactions (social cognition). Behavioral Studies While imaging studies offer physiological data related to brain function, behavioral studies are also important for understanding human interactions. • When studying children, Moll et al. (2011) (as cited in Hari et al., 2015) found that they learn best while interacting with others rather than observing. 8 • In another key study (Noy et al., 2011), children played a mirror game to learn how to improvise and move together. 12 The results showed that they tend to synchronize their behavior in a cooperative way, rather than one taking over as a leader and the other acting as a follower. Both results suggest that humans have an innate tendency to interact with others.

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You Are Not Alone: Social Isolation

People who are socially isolated are at risk of an earlier than average death.

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Chapter 1: Why We Need People

The Interactive Brain Hypothesis (IBH) Another theory that has been proposed to explain social interaction is the interactive brain hypothesis. IBH proposes that by interacting with others, humans further develop their brain function. These interactive experiences and skills allow the brain to perform the functions that current brain imaging studies attribute to simple perceptual and cognitive mechanisms. At a high level, IBH has the potential to form the ‘big picture’ for human interactions. 8 What Happens if We Don’t Have People? Based on the research presented above, it’s clear that there is a biological basis for human interaction. Therefore, this next section covers the negative outcomes associated with a lack of human interaction. Actual and Perceived Social Isolation People associate certain traits with a higher risk of mortality, like smoking or exposure to pollution. However, people might not realize that those who experience social isolation, feel lonely, or live alone are also at a higher risk of not reaching their maximum lifespan. This conclusion is based on the data from 70 independent research studies. 9 In addition, the studies included fully adjusted statistical models, ruling out other variables like a person’s age or socioeconomic status and supporting the claim that social isolation, loneliness , and living alone increased the likelihood of a negative outcome. An important thing to note is that, based on the data, there was no difference between the effects of actual and perceived social isolation. This means that feeling lonely produced a similar outcome in those with objectively minimal social contact.

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You Are Not Alone: Social Isolation