Why social exclusion will leave you out in the cold
Hopkins psychology professor Stephen Drigotas did not find the connection between food preferences and temperature surprising. "There are a number of concepts that are related in the brain and are based on factors such as experience, how we are raised and how our social networks treat us," Drigotas said.
"When one portion of the brain that controls for such a factor becomes activated, the other portion relating to it will become activated as well."
The insula, a portion of the brain located within the cerebral cortex, is known to do exactly that. It is responsible for letting you know when you are hungry, thirsty or craving an addictive substance.
It also recognizes pain, causes you to feel sympathy for or recognize the emotional states of others and is activated when you are in a socially exclusive situation - all of the factors that Zhong and Leonardelli pointed to when securing evidence for their theory, "Does Social Isolation Literally Feel Cold?"
Another idea to take into consideration is the quality of care that one had as an infant would impact the effects that a social situation exerts on the mind - or the influence that he or she exerts on such a situation.
"If a caregiver is responsive to one's needs as an infant, one is more likely to be emotionally secure. If the caregiver is cold or business-like, that would also serve to impact the way that one acts in a social situation, or the way that one perceives it as," Drigotas said.
Such results serve to support the theory that memories of social experiences, whether they are positive or negative, work in conjunction with physical cues. This causes you to associate a specific memory with both physical sensations and the vocabulary we use to describe those sensations.
This may account for people's personalities being described as "warm," for instance, if others happen to view them as good-natured, outgoing people. Those people might actually feel warm inside upon meeting the warm individual.
These findings may also shed insight on seasonal affective disorder, a psychiatric ailment that causes sufferes to experience depression during the colder months of the year when daylight is scarcer.
"When one portion of the brain that controls for such a factor becomes activated, the other portion relating to it will become activated as well."
The insula, a portion of the brain located within the cerebral cortex, is known to do exactly that. It is responsible for letting you know when you are hungry, thirsty or craving an addictive substance.
It also recognizes pain, causes you to feel sympathy for or recognize the emotional states of others and is activated when you are in a socially exclusive situation - all of the factors that Zhong and Leonardelli pointed to when securing evidence for their theory, "Does Social Isolation Literally Feel Cold?"
Another idea to take into consideration is the quality of care that one had as an infant would impact the effects that a social situation exerts on the mind - or the influence that he or she exerts on such a situation.
"If a caregiver is responsive to one's needs as an infant, one is more likely to be emotionally secure. If the caregiver is cold or business-like, that would also serve to impact the way that one acts in a social situation, or the way that one perceives it as," Drigotas said.
Such results serve to support the theory that memories of social experiences, whether they are positive or negative, work in conjunction with physical cues. This causes you to associate a specific memory with both physical sensations and the vocabulary we use to describe those sensations.
This may account for people's personalities being described as "warm," for instance, if others happen to view them as good-natured, outgoing people. Those people might actually feel warm inside upon meeting the warm individual.
These findings may also shed insight on seasonal affective disorder, a psychiatric ailment that causes sufferes to experience depression during the colder months of the year when daylight is scarcer.
Be the first to comment on this story