This is a great argument to leave work early and hang out with friends: research published in this month’s issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that social interaction predicted cognitive functioning. To quote: “The more participants interacted socially by talking to and visiting friends and relatives, the better their performance on the measure of cognitive functioning (in this case a mini mental exam).” And just before you discount the results due to a limited age spectrum, the age range of participants varied between 24- 96 years old. But is socializing really good for the brain? Surely doing something more academic and “intellectual” such as doing the crossword, completing a visual task, or say- reading an academic journal on psychology would help my brain more, right?

Survey says no: their follow up study looked at just such a comparison. Turns out discussing a social issue for ten minutes was just as cognitively stimulating as completing intellectual activities that didn’t involve interaction. Turns out that interacting with others can give you some immediate cognitive boosts as well as social benefits.

Now, the real follow-up study is to see how these professors kept their class attendance high after their students read the research!

Further Reading:

Ybarra, O, et al. (2008). Mental exercising through simple socializing: Social interaction promotes general cognitive functioning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 248-259.