The Evolving Human Social Animal Research References

8/4/2019 The Evolving Human Social Animal Research References

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The Evolving Human Social Animals Impact on Events

By Lynn Randallwww.randallinsights.com

In our evolutionary development, there are strong neuroscientific or biologicalreasons that we desire to connect with each other socially. Gathering in groups

helped us safely evolve. Our cavemanancestors were the first to experience theneed to be a part of something greater thanones self. They created social networksand community upon which they could relywhen times got tough. Thats why we allfirst started gathering together in groupsaround a focused purpose. For thecaveman, that focused purpose was

survival. Even today, a meeting or event isstill a gathering of people focused on a

specific purpose. Over time our tools became more sophisticated, and weevolved to embrace the influence, inclusion, and impact of technology (such associal media). Reference: Jared Diamond, "The Worst Mistake in the Historyof the Human Race," Discover Magazine, May 1987

People used to believe that our mentalpathways were irrevocably forged andfixed by the time we reached adulthood.

We thought that the intense arrangementof connections formed by the neurons inour head became set. This beliefspawned sayings like You cant teach anold dog how to drive a car. But brainresearchers have discovered that thatsnot the case. James Olds, a professor ofneuroscience who directs the KrasnowInstitute for Advanced Study at George Mason University, says that even theadult mind is very plastic. Nerve cells constantly break old connections andform new ones. The brain, according to Olds, has the ability to reprogram itself

on the fly, altering the way it functions. Reference: The Shallows: What theInternet Is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr, June 2010. NicholasCarr, The Atlantic, July/August 2008 Is Google Making Us Stupid?Belinda Goldsmith (2008-10-27). "Is surfing the Internet altering yourbrain?". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-11-01.


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With limited capacity, time, and resources togather information, as a society weve turned tothe efficiency of the internet to help us gatherinformation. Our tools have vastly improvedover time. And, its changing the way our brains

process -- think, read, and gather information.

The internets effect on our constant brain re-programming has been dubbed the Googleeffect. The internet (especially with

improvements in mobile devices) offers a universal and omnipresent pipeline ofinformation flowing through our eyes and ears and into our minds. Our mindsconsume the information the way the internet brings it to us -- in a fast-flowingshallow stream.

The Google effects implication for the events industry is that peoples minds

have adjusted to the intense mix of Internet media, traditional media,communications, and marketing. And so, our meeting experiences have to adaptto our attendees new expectations.

Both social media and the integration of digital solutions fit the way our brainshave adapted to the internet and seek information in an easy to skim throughsingle source. Messaging can be delivered in multiple ways (pdf files todownload, videos to watch, experts to chat with during the event, blogs to read,forums to which you can contribute, etc). Reference: Birkerts, Sven (1994).The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age.Winchester, Massachusetts: Faber and Faber. Carr, Nicholas G. (2008). The

Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google. New York: W. W.Norton & Company. Doidge, Norman (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself:Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science . New York


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The widespread use of search engines andonline databases has also affected the waypeople remember information. A group ofscientists, led by Betsy Sparrow, an assistantprofessor of psychology at Columbia, wondered

whether people were more likely to rememberinformation that could be easily retrieved from acomputer, just as students are more likely torecall facts they believe will be on a test.

The subjects were significantly more likely to remember information if theythought they would not be able to find it later. Participants did not make the effortto remember when they thought they could later look up the trivia statement theyhad read, the authors write. The experiment explores an aspect of what isknown as transactive memory -- the notion that we rely on our family, friendsand co-workers as well as reference material to store information for us. Forthose of us in the meetings industry that means our ability to extend beyond the

physical gathering into an ongoing community of interest will help us retain valueand relevance to our attendees. Reference: NY Times, Patricia Cohen,Internet Use Affects Memory, Study Finds Evan Ratliff (2008-08-14). Areyou losing your memory thanks to the Internet?" Salon.com.

Which begs the question... Are our lives growingmore mechanical? And, what will that mean for usas "human social animals?"

For example, Ive often heard people say the

internet (and social media) doesn't "connect" us asquickly as in-person.

Again, in reality thats just not the case. TheInternet is full of anecdotes about people whohave met online and formed deep relationships. Infact, recent studies indicate the courtship periodfor digital romantics was a mere 18.5 monthscompared to those traditionalists who courtedoffline taking 42 months to tie the knot. This wouldindicate to me that meeting first online can fast-

track the bonding process, not the opposite. Chatrooms, message boards, gaming environments and other social media havebrought people romance, job connections, emotional support, and lifelongfriends. Reference: Press Release, Iowa State University Alicia Cast,Sociology, January, 2010http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/jan/loveconnection


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We also used to believe people were driven to maximize self-interest (economictheory). Now we know that people are driven by multiple motivators.

Drive to Acquire. People aredriven to acquire stuff, status,resources.Drive to Create / Comprehend.Challenging yourself, learning

new things, awe, curiosity,creatingDrive to Defend. People aredriven to protect stuff, status,relationships, communities.Drive to Bond. People aresocial. Wired to pay attention toeach other and amazinglyinfluenced by each other. So you

can see the power of events in each one of these drivers. We acquire status,resources, and new relationships at events satisfying our Drive to Acquire.

Meetings also are a significant opportunity to learn new things, create newmeaning, challenge oneself and generally satisfy the Drive toCreate/Comprehend. We also bond together as a group, which helps us protectour communities, relationships and even push together in the Drive to Defend ourindustry. The easiest and most relatable, however, is the Drive to Bond andconnect socially at meetings and events.Reference: Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria, October 9, 2001 Driven: HowHuman Nature Shapes Organizations

Taking the Drive to Bond one stepfurther Think of social capital ascreating stronger networks andcommunities. In order to not onlybuild trust but increase a sense ofmutual responsibility, increasingsocial capital is a critical element. Ina 1998 study on increasing socialcapital (conducted by Nahapiet andGoshal) individuals must perceivethemselves to be part of a networklarger than themselves and theirimmediate relationships. Individuals identify themselves with the organizationand begin to sense they belong. The need to belong is an accepted

psychological and sociological reality and the event experience is great atproviding a sense of belonging and identification.Theres something gratifying about being able to see your community in aphysical or virtual event setting. It contributes to verification that youre part of alarge group and that youre all pulling in the same direction. The increasingimportance of corporate social responsibility in the events space is evidence thatwe all desperately want to feel that were contributing to a greater good. A good


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that is larger than ourselves. Reference: Nahapiet and Goshal, SocialCaptial, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage.Hkbu.edu.hk, Academy of management review 1998

What about when youre kicked out of a social community? While earlierresearch has shown that the same

brain regions support the emotionallydistressing feelings that accompanythe experience of both physical painand social rejection, the current studyis the first known to establish that thereis neural overlap between both ofthese experiences in brain regions thatbecome active when peopleexperience painful sensations in theirbody. That means when you cut mefrom your social network, I feel it like

youre slicing into my skin. Reference: Social Rejection SharesSomatosensory Representations With Physical Pain, by Ethan F. Kross,Marc G. Berman, Walter Mischel, Edward E. Smith and Tor D. Wager;published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Then, why would we risk the physicalpain of rejection to reach out to newpeople? What happens when wemeet new people or connect with oldfriends is our brain releases oxytocin.Oxytocinis the hormone that fostersthe bond between mother and child. It

also triggers other types of relatedcoupling and trust behaviors. It hasbeen proven thatOxytocinreleasealso produces feelings of affection andcontentment.A general sense of calm and love arealso triggered by the release of this powerful hormone. Oxytocin remainsdormant and stored in our brains and in other parts of our bodies. It is the releaseof this hormone, in both men and women, which produces the feelings.Reference: du Vigneaud V, Ressler C, Swan JM, Roberts CW, KatsoyannisPG, Gordon S (1953). "The synthesis of an octapeptide amide with the

hormonal activity of oxytocin". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 75 (19): 487980.doi:10.1021/ja01115a553 Lee HJ, Macbeth AH, Pagani JH, Young WS (June2009). "Oxytocin: the great facilitator of life". Progress in Neurobiology88(2): 12751. doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2009.04.001. PMC2689929.PMID19482229.


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And, this doesnt just happen when weconnect in-person. Neuroscientist PaulZak has studied Oxytocin and socialnetworking revolving around time spenton Blackberry use, Facebook, MySpaceand Twitter and the measurement of

Oxytocin levels. He believes that thesesocial networking tools simply facilitateand, in some cases, may even replacethe now old-fashioned face-to-faceconversation.Paul Zak, says "Your brain interprets

[sic] tweeting as if you were directly interacting with people you cared aboutor had empathy for," Zak says. "E-connection is processed in the brain likean in-person connection." Reference: Pennenberg, A.L. Doctor Love.Fast Company, July/August 2010, Annals of the New York Academy of

Sciences The Neurobiology of Trust PAUL J. ZAK, ROBERT

KURZBAN, WILLIAM T. MATZNER Article first published online: 12JAN 2006

An interesting example of the deepemotional bond that forms with peopleyouve never met in person was famouslyillustrated in the World of Warcraft game.A team (called a guild) held a funeral in thegame environment to grieve for the real-world death of one of their guild members.When a rival guild ambushed the funeral

and killed the avatars of the funeralguests, it sparked a worldwide controversyand significant moral outrage. Virtual world, but the most profound of real humanemotions. Reference: http://www.gamesradar.com/the-wow-funeral-raid-four-years-later/


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Theres also research that showssocial media may also deepen whatcould otherwise be a fleetingrelationship. A study by Dr. ReyJunco of Lock Haven University

found that college students whointeracted with each other and theirprofessors on Twitter were morelikely to meet outside class tostudy. They also developedunexpected real-life connections. Inone case, a popular athlete becamefriends with a quiet, comic book-

loving classmate. Other students reached out to a stressed classmate whoposted that he might harm himself. Reference: Computers & Education:

Junco, R. (in press). The relationship between frequency of Facebook use,

participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement. Computers &

Education, doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.004

Sherry Turkles Alone Togethersummarizes her growing concern thatcomputers have seriously undermined ourability to connect in meaningful ways witheach other. We expect more fromtechnology and less from each other.Overwhelmed, we have been drawn toconnections that seem low risk andreadily available: Facebook friends,avatars, IRC chat partners.Turkle focuses on the role of technology indiluting our personal relationships while seeming to enrich and expandthem. Her message is simple: the very technologies that seem to offer moreflexibility and scale in connecting with others texting, online social networks anddiscussion forums actually undermine the richness required for true intimacy todevelop. While enhancing the appearance of intimacy, we are actually becomingmore isolated and alone. Reference: Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why WeExpect More from Technology and Less from Each Other January 2011


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Online Social Networking has powerbecause it addresses our humanpsychological vulnerability. We wantconnection, but many of us fear theconsequences of connection. True intimacy

can be very scary. And painful, as welearned earlier.Turkle feels we need to re-connect with ourpassion and find ways to integrate ourpassion with our profession through

communications that foster deeper trust-based relationships. For Turkle thatwould mean an in-person meeting without any computers or smartphones tointerfere in the human-to-human exchange. Reference: Sherry Turkle, AloneTogether: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from EachOther January 2011

But, perhaps technology is actuallyconnecting people instead of alienatingthem. Can digital solutions help us relate toone another more deeply and moreproductively? Michael Chorost writes abouthis own implanted computer to imagine aworld where people are connected by them.The implanted computer would worksomething like my iPhone, he explains, inthat it would let people be effortlesslyaware of what their friends and colleagues are doing. It would let each personknow what the others are seeing and feeling, thus enabling much richer forms ofcommunication. Chorost sees himself as a precursor to a world in which peoplecommunicate with each other, at great distances, in new ways, using implantedtechnologies that feel as much a part of their bodies as their own hands. We can'timagine what that will be like, just as in 1978 no one could have imaginedbroadcasting their activities to friends by using Twitter on a cellphone. Chorostimagines that many years from now, our children may look back on not only ourlives but also our events industry and wonder, "How could they stand to be sodisconnected? How did they make it through the day?" Reference: MichaelChorost, Worldwide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines,and the Internet, February 2011 http://www.michaelchorost.com/mchorost-world-overview.htm


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But does that connection come at the price ofaddiction? Dr. John Ratey is a professor ofpsychiatry at Harvard who believes peoplecan be physically addicted to e-mail. Each e-

mail you open gives you a little squirt ofdopamine, which you associate with satiety.But its just a little hit. The effect wears offquickly, leaving you wanting another hit.

Dr. Ratey, calls this acquired attention deficitdisorder. Think about how this addiction to

the quick informational hit would be compounded many times over by thoseimplanted BlackBerrys or iPhones shooting off constant information. The effortwould be so low, the rewards so intermittent, and the payoff so good, that asavage compulsion would result. Reference: Michael Chorost, WorldwideMind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet,

February 2011 ; New York Times, The Lure of Data: Is It Addictive? byMATT RICHTEL, July 6, 2003

And, addiction isnt the only downside. Theres aperhaps more subtle but uglier side to socialnetworkings affect on culture. Anonymity onlinemakes us ruder. According to analysis of studiesconducted by the Pew Internet and American LifeProject, and, separately, the Synovate marketresearch group, people are ruder online than off,

and, generally speaking, technology (social mediaincluded) seems to be a license to behave more poorly. In fact, the studies foundthat more than a third of all Internet users polled admitted that they usedlanguage or words online, which they would never use in person. Reference:Pew Internet & American Life Project, Study on Social Networking sites andour lives. (Study published June 16, 2011) Keith N. Hampton,University of Pennsylvania;Lauren Sessions Goulet, University of Pennsylvania;Lee Rainie, Pew Internet Project; Kristen Purcell, Pew Internet Project


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So, the long and the short of it is: What you putinto the network is what you get out of it.Researchers Christakis and Fowler found thatnetworks magnify whatever they are seeded with,for good or for ill. Behavior change, including

altruistic behavior, spreads. The more help you get,the more likely you will be to help someone else.Reference: National Institute of Health, Life in

the network: the coming age of computational social scienceDavid Lazer, Alex (Sandy) Pentland, Lada Adamic, Sinan Aral, Albert LaszloBarabasi, Devon Brewer, Nicholas Christakis, Noshir Contractor, JamesFowler, Myron Gutmann, Tony Jebara, Gary King, Michael Macy, Deb Roy,and Marshall Van Alstyne; September 16, 2009

In Summary, Social Media isnt a fad -- itsa fundamental shift in the way we humanscommunicate. Social media and eventsare inextricably tied together.Understanding the human animal, whatmakes us tick, and why social media worksor doesnt for us is critically important as itexplodes to inclusion in every single eventexperience.


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About Lynn Randall

As the head of Randall Insights, Lynn is passionate about helping her clients -- both in-

house groups and third-party planners -- improve the performance of their meetings and

events. Her consulting practice has included all aspects of strategic event design,

implementation, and measurement, with special emphasis on:

-determining the right recipe of virtual technologies to enhance a physical event

-applying the lessons of neuroscience and macroergonomics to improve the

lasting impact of the event experience

-interpreting event survey data to provide a blueprint for action and the means to

support decisions

Prior to creating Randall Insights, Lynn founded and led the Business Solutions Group

consulting practice at Maritz Travel. At Maritz, Lynn developed groundbreaking

approaches to help clients both increase the value of their events and communicate this

value throughout their organizations.

Lynn is a graduate of the University of Missouris School of Journalism. She can be

reached through her website at

http://randallinsights.com/Randall_Insights/Contact.html

The Evolving Human Social Animal Research References

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