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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
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Mental Exercising Through Simple Socializing: Social Interaction Promotes General Cognitive Functioning

Oscar Ybarra

University of Michigan, oybarra{at}umich.edu.

Eugene Burnstein

University of Michigan, University of Warsaw

Piotr Winkielman

University of California, San Diego

Matthew C. Keller

University of Colorado, Boulder

Melvin Manis

University of Michigan

Emily Chan

Colorado College

Joel Rodriguez

U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation

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.

Key Words: cognitive performance • socializing • mental exercise • social intelligence • executive function • group living

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 2, 248-259 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167207310454
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?