Lonely people's divergent thought processes may contribute to feeling
'alone in a crowded room'

Date:
April 7, 2023
Source:
Association for Psychological Science
Summary:
The neural responses of lonely individuals differ from those of
other people, suggesting that seeing the world differently may be
a risk factor for loneliness regardless of friendships.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Common wisdom suggests that a core difference between solitude and
loneliness is choice. Whereas a person who appreciates solitude might
choose to enjoy a quiet night in or a solo trip abroad, a lonely person
may feel disconnected from other people even in a crowded room. New
research published in Psychological Science supports this notion,
suggesting that lonely people may think differently regardless of the
size of their social networks.


==========================================================================
"We found that lonely individuals are exceptionally dissimilar to
their peers in the way that they process the world around them ... even
when taking into account the number of friends that they have," said
lead author Elisa C. Baek (University of Southern California) in an
interview. Her study showed that lonely individuals' neural responses
differ from those of other people, suggesting that "seeing the world differently than those around you may be a risk factor for loneliness,
even if you regularly socialize with them." Baek and colleagues Ryan
Hyon, Karina Lo'pez, Meng Du, Mason A. Porter, and Carolyn Parkinson (University of California, Los Angeles [UCLA]) came to this conclusion
by comparing the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of
63 first-year university students.

During each 90-minute scan, participants viewed 14 engaging video clips
in the same order. After the scan, they self-reported their feelings
of social connection using the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Earlier in the
academic year, each participant had also completed a social network
survey in which they were asked to list the names of each person with
whom they studied, ate meals, or otherwise hung out during their first
several months as students.

In order to analyze these data, Baek and colleagues divided participants
into two groups: a "lonely" group with participants who scored higher
than the median on the loneliness scale and a nonlonely group with
participants who scored under the median.

When the researchers compared these participants' scans, they found that
the brain activity of lonely participants was very dissimilar to that of
both nonlonely participants and other lonely participants. By comparison,
the brain activity of nonlonely participants was similar to that of other nonlonely participants. This was especially true in the default-mode
network, in which shared brain activity appears to be associated with interpreting narratives and friendships in a similar manner, and in
the reward-processing areas of the brain, the researchers wrote. These
findings remained significant even when the researchers controlled for demographic characteristics and the size of participants' social networks.

"Lonely people process the world idiosyncratically, which may contribute
to the reduced sense of being understood that often accompanies
loneliness," the researchers explained.

Additional research is needed in order to determine the underlying cause
of these results, however, Baek said.

"One possibility is that lonely individuals do not find value in the
same aspects of situations or scenes as their peers," Baek and colleagues wrote.

"This may result in a reinforcing feedback loop in which lonely
individuals perceive themselves to be different from their peers, which
may in turn lead to further challenges in achieving social connection."
Another possibility is that loneliness itself could lead people to
process information differently, the researchers added.

In either case, learning more about how lonely people think, and how
to promote shared understanding, could help identify new pathways for
reducing loneliness, Baek said.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Mind_&_Brain
# Psychology # Social_Psychology # Relationships
# Intelligence # Brain-Computer_Interfaces #
Gender_Difference # Learning_Disorders # Perception
* RELATED_TERMS
o Neural_network o Public_health o Charisma o Paranoia
o Nocebo_-_Placebo o Emotion o Cognitive_neuroscience o
Social_inclusion

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Association_for_Psychological_Science. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Elisa C. Baek, Ryan Hyon, Karina Lo'pez, Meng Du, Mason A. Porter,
Carolyn Parkinson. Lonely Individuals Process the World in
Idiosyncratic Ways. Psychological Science, 2023; 095679762211453
DOI: 10.1177/ 09567976221145316 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230407124558.htm

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