Social Clubs: The Clubs You’re in This Year Will Secretly Shape Your Brain
Educators, by and large, are social. Teaching is social, leading is social, and supporting others is social. Every role you play increases the likelihood of you being in a Club. You may not label the Club you’re in but trust me, you are in at least one Club. And the Clubs you’re in are changing your brain.
Seriously!
The first time I realized this, I was staring at a study showing the effects (using MRI) on the brain of …….
The Research
The best way to help understand the power of peer pressure and social clubs is with a real story. Muhammad Yunus was a young professor of economics. He noticed that in Bangladesh, thousands of poor women ran tiny micro-businesses. As artisans, they made simple products to sell daily for a profit. They bought the raw materials, then would weave, carve, or build the much-needed products. For example, women might buy bamboo and make a stool.
But these women had no credit to purchase the materials because they lacked the traditional collateral or assets that the banks would honor. So, the women were forced to get continual “advances” from loan sharks to allow them to buy the materials so they could make their products. This “tax” on their products kept them in poverty. There were many loan defaults, too. It took visionary business insight for Yunus to see that the solution was social, not economic.
Yunus realized that the women DID have collateral; it was social collateral. To these women, their standing in the community is almost all they have. This innovative investor (Yunus) offered loans to teams of five women at much lower interest rates. The whole team of women had to get approval to join, and if one defaulted, the entire group lost their loan. It was simply a joint liability.
As a result, women did not let unqualified others into the loan group, and once in, members did not want to let their friends down. The result was amazing. While a typical bank in Bangladesh had a default rate of over 50%, these women repaid their unconventional micro-loans at around 98%. That’s the power of the Club. By the way, today’s Yunus idea is the Grameen Bank, with over nine billion in assets.
Fifteen years ago, I remembered pouncing on a meaty (over 1000 pages) “hot off the press” volume of research (edited by John T. Cacioppo). This book, “Foundations in Social Neuroscience” showed the new and profound connections in how social experiences alter our brains. This book blew me away, and I began to make connections for the first time.
Well, it is now time for an update. And it is time to see what happens when you socialize both at work and away from work.
While many studies show the significant and widespread “positive contagion” effects of social bonding, there are several troubling issues that rarely get publicity. By the way, I have carefully screened every study to ensure the science is rock solid. That means that every peer-reviewed study (all from prestigious scientific journals) has been carefully noted, and genetic effects were eliminated from the data by using large twin samples as well as other statistical tools.
Let’s begin with food.
Who you socialize with can and does influence WHAT you eat. Eating effects are increased when individuals desire to affiliate (“I want to hang out with her.”) with others or perceive themself to be like the potential role model. This behavioral mimicry occurs without conscious awareness (Cruwys, Bevelander & Hermans, 2015). Notice how the food ordering plays out the next time you eat with others in your club. You may hear, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
Many have said you are the average weight of your five closest friends. Is that an urban legend or fact? The body weight of your friends does influence you. You are most likely to become obese when a friend becomes obese. That friend increases your chances of becoming obese by 57 percent. Yes, friends have a positive causal peer effect on body mass (O’Malley, Elwert, Rosenquist, Zaslavsky & Christakis, 2014).
Social groups often foster existing or new fear biases towards out-group members. (Molapour, Golkar, Navarrete, Haaker & Olsson, 2015). This helps all of us understand biases between social groups.
Yes, your group’s social identity does shape responses to intergroup competition and potential harm to your group from others. Intergroup competition can boost social identity (“We are a strong team.”), but it can also affect group responses (potentially less empathy) to the hardships others face. (Cikara, Botvinick & Fiske, 2011).
How your friends feel is contagious. This association extends to one’s friends’ friends’ friends. Female friends (up to three degrees of separation) appear to be especially influential in the spread of depression from one person to another. The results are robust and suggest that your social networks are relevant to the potential causes of depression (Rosenquist, Fowler & Christakis, 2011).
If you were wondering, yes, of course, your friends influence your social alcohol consumption behavior, too (Rosenquist, Murabito, Fowler & Christakis, 2010).
Social group members may home in on differences within the group. Others low on warmth and competence within your group are perceived as different, less human, or even dehumanized (Harris & Fiske, 2007). It seems like it is good to be a friend and make friends.
And, in case you were wondering, online social networks also alter the brain (Kanai, Bahrami, Roylance & Rees, 2012). Increased gray matter volume correlated with an increased quantitative measure of participation in social networks like Facebook.
By now, you must be wondering how much freedom you have (if any.) Yes, the Social Club you are in can and does influence your behavior. But every researcher was careful about how the study results were summarized. Social clubs can influence behavior. BUT… social clubs do not force, coerce, or mandate behaviors.
Is there a good side to this? You bet!
Positive social experiences will enhance the production of new neurons (neurogenesis) (Cacioppo S, Capitanio JP, Cacioppo 2014; Venna VR, Xu Y, Doran SJ, Patrizz A & McCullough LD. 2014). This means you are not an outcast; you are liked and trusted by others in the group.
You can change things in your club, such as how all socially perceive others. Cultivating compassion changes our brain for the better (Klimecki, Leiberg, Lamm & Singer 2013). Learning to be empathic also changes our brain for the better (Hein, Engelmann, Vollberg & Tobler, 2016). When we admire others, our brain changes for the better. (Immordino-Yang, McColl, Damasio & Damasio, 2009). I find these studies very, very encouraging.
Keep reading, and we’ll see what you can do about the social contagion effect at your work clubs.
Getting Started and Taking Action
As you can see, social clubs can influence us both for good and for bad. If you are noticing more of the dark side of the social contagion effect in your work clubs, here are a few suggestions to consider.
You can now see that your professional learning community has a LOT more to do with your brain (and life) than just a committee looking at student data. Take your school teams seriously and help form them into amazing social clubs that you LOVE to be a part of.
For example, if you have little or no choice (the social club was mandated) at work, focus on what you DO have control over. First, find an ally in your club that is more aligned with your interests and values. Having a protective social buddy can reduce any adverse effects. Be sure to spend social time with your friend to allow time to strengthen your shared values and debrief.
In addition, write out a simple paragraph or bullet points of what you DO value. Write out how you treat others and what you stand for. Read it to yourself and even post it on the bathroom mirror. This will reinforce who YOU are instead of getting adversely influenced by others with whom you may disagree.
Next, if you find you have no ally in your social club, you have two options. The first applies if you consider yourself an activist or go-getter. In this case, strengthen your ties with the leadership in the group. Share your concerns about the group’s bias or lack of positive activity. Offer to provide a “second voice” for the leadership (which is clearly lacking). Sometimes, supposed leaders really DO want and need genuine support. By taking on this role, you can begin to influence policy or actions in the group.
Your second option is to focus your energy on where you get the most rewards. Zoom in on your own work with students, usually in the classroom. This can give you a positive outlet for your energy and help you do what is most important to you. In the social club you can nod your head and contribute but protect what is good about you. Protect the daily experiences of your students.
Here is what the research tells us about the pressures of a social club. People often struggle because of their behavioral choices. They often select comfort, pleasure, avoidance, or approval in the short term, but those choices can lead to horrendous long-term outcomes. When you choose a social club (friends, professional learning community, neighbors, etc.) that offers you a NEW identity through a NEW peer group, and the peer pressure effect can be very powerful. That’s where you get the biggest effect.
Email:
Mail:
Phone:
Fax:
