Do you frequently attend social events like parties, karaoke, or group trips? According to U.S. media reports, research by Michigan State University professor Oscar Barra and colleagues found that social activities not only help you make friends but also make you smarter. This study was published in the February issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Researchers compared participants' cognitive abilities with their social activity frequency and found that those who socialized more scored higher on cognitive tests.
Oscar explained that socializing requires interacting with unfamiliar people, making it a form of mental exercise. For instance, when chatting with friends at a party, you must divide your attention among everyone, processing information like names, occupations, and personalities.Throughout the event, the cerebral cortex remains in a state of heightened activity.
Keeping the atmosphere lively is a natural part of social interaction. This prompts us to draw from our mental "database" of trending topics—sports, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion—to spark interest. You might even crack a joke or two to lighten the mood. This kind of spontaneous verbal exchange provides significant training for comprehension, abstraction, and inference skills.
Ultimately, social interaction is the ultimate remedy for emotional release and mental well-being. While your conversation partner might not be a confidant—someone you can vent to about your boss's unfairness, a colleague's sabotage, or your husband's neglect—the act of talking shifts your focus to other matters. Even a few minutes of gossip, chatting about the U.S. presidential election, or discussing store discounts can be enough to temporarily set aside your worries and soothe your mind.