Social Networking Affects Brains Like Falling in Love

Original source: SimoleonSense.com .

H/T Leadon Young

Introduction (via Adam L. Penenberg@ Fast Company)

Neuroeconomist Paul Zak has discovered, for the first time, that social networking triggers the release of the generosity-trust chemical in our brains. And that should be a wake-up call for every company.

Interesting excerpts (via Adam L. Penenberg@ Fast Company)

This fits perfectly with Zak’s general findings, which show that the more money test subjects received, “the higher their oxytocin levels; the higher their oxytocin levels, the more they reciprocated.” I had become part of a virtuous cycle, without even trying.

But Zak is talking about more than just individual human behavior. His research has always led to greater conclusions. His dissertation looked at factors that might accelerate poverty or prosperity in developing countries. He found that nations with a high level of trust (Norway, Sweden, the United States) have higher income levels and more stable governments than those that don’t. Their citizenry possess higher levels of “social capital,” which depends on positive interactions between people, on a level of trust created by low crime, better education, and greater economic development. He concluded that trust was the variable that showed whether a society was working well, and when it did, the economy would take off on its own.

“Your brain interpreted tweeting as if you were directly interacting with people you cared about or had empathy for,” Zak says. “E-connection is processed in the brain like an in-person connection.”

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