Decoding the invisible forces of social connections

Abstract

By its 20th anniversary, social neuroscience has witnessed an incredible rise in the number of studies demonstrating the effects of perceived social isolation (e.g., loneliness, ostracism), and inversely, the beneficial effects of social bonding (e.g., love, desire, attachment) on social perception, cognition, and behavior and on mental and physical health. The current review underscores the importance of two factors in this literature: (1) where an individual falls along the continuum of isolation/bonding from feelings of rejection and neglect to feelings of strong, stable, trusted social bonds, and (2) whether gauging an individual's general feeling of social isolation/bonding or the specific feeling of isolation/bonding toward the person with whom the individual is interacting. Evidence shows that these factors are related to brain and cognition, including embodied social cognition-a system integrating past self-related actions from which simulation mechanisms can be used to access other people's minds and anticipate their actions. The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying sensorimotor mapping between interacting individuals offers an empirical opportunity to investigate the interpersonal forces that operate on individuals at a distance. This multilevel integrative approach provides a valuable tool for investigating the brain networks responsible for understanding acute and chronic social disorders.

Keywords: bonding; embodied cognition; interdependence; loneliness; mimicry; social isolation; social neuroscience; synchrony.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the continuum of social isolation/bonding from feelings of social isolation or neglect (in blue) to feelings of strong, salubrious social bonds (in red). Brain and behavioral responses differ depending on an individual's general feeling of social isolation/connection and specific feeling of isolation/connection to the person with whom one is interacting. Top Panel: Illustrative mapping for individuals who differ in their general feelings of social isolation/connection when viewing others (see Cacioppo and Patrick, 2008). Bottom Panel: Illustrative mapping for individuals who differ in their specific feelings of social isolation/connection toward (e.g., love for) a significant other (see Ortigue et al., ; Cacioppo et al., ; Brain Graphic by James W. Lewis, West Virginia University published in the Scientific American Mind).