title: Mental exercising through simple socializing: social interaction promotes general cognitive functioning.
abstract: Social interaction is a central feature of people's life and engages a variety of cognitive resources. Thus, social interaction should facilitate general cognitive functioning. Previous studies suggest such a link, but they used special populations (e.g., elderly with cognitive impairment), measured social interaction indirectly (e.g., via marital status), and only assessed effects of extended interaction in correlational designs. Here the relation between mental functioning and direct indicators of social interaction was examined in a younger and healthier population. Study 1 using survey methodology found a positive relationship between social interaction, assessed via amount of actual social contact, and cognitive functioning in people from three age groups including younger adults. Study 2 using an experimental design found that a small amount of social interaction (10 min) can facilitate cognitive performance. The findings are discussed in the context of the benefits social relationships have for so many aspects of people's lives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Research Center for Group Dynamics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109, USA. oybarra@umich.edu
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ybarra
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Burnstein
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Winkielman
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Melvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manis
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D012919:Social Behavior; D013850:Thinking; D014481:United States