Social

Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect

By: Matthew D. Lieberman

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In Social, renowned psychologist Matthew Lieberman explores groundbreaking research in social neuroscience, revealing that our need to connect with other people is even more fundamental, more basic, than our need for food or shelter. Because of this, our brain uses its spare time to learn about the social world-other people and our relation to them.

It is believed that we must commit 10,000 hours to master a skill. According to Lieberman, each of us has spent 10,000 hours learning to make sense of people and groups by the time we are ten. Social argues that our need to reach out to and connect with others is a primary driver behind our behavior. We believe that pain and pleasure alone guide our actions. Yet, new research using fMRI-including a great deal of original research conducted by Lieberman and his UCLA lab-shows that our brains react to social pain and pleasure in much the same way as they do to physical pain and pleasure.

Fortunately, the brain has evolved sophisticated mechanisms for securing our place in the social world. We have a unique ability to read other people's minds, to figure out their hopes, fears, and motivations, allowing us to effectively coordinate our lives with one another. And our most private sense of who we are is intimately linked to the important people and groups in our lives. This wiring often leads us to restrain our selfish impulses for the greater good.

These mechanisms lead to behavior that might seem irrational, but is really just the result of our deep social wiring and necessary for our success as a species. Based on the latest cutting edge research, the findings in Social have important real-world implications.

Our schools and businesses, for example, attempt to minimalize social distractions. But this is exactly the wrong thing to do to encourage engagement and learning, and literally shuts down the social brain, leaving powerful neuro-cognitive resources untapped.

The insights revealed in this pioneering audiobook suggest ways to improve learning in schools, make the workplace more productive, and improve our overall well-being.

©2013 Matthew D. Lieberman (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A fascinating explanation of why 'a broken heart can feel as painful as a broken leg' and social recognition is frequently prized above money." ( Kirkus)

multiple detailed points on how our brain works

10 out of 10 . detailed points on how our brain works with case studies. great delivery and order. conclusions at the end of each chapter to sum up all the points made. overall great book

Interestimg topic but too long

I found the book interestimg but I think that it would have been better should the author of this book summarized what he meant to explain more concisely. He went over the same concepts and ideas multiple times and I found this unengaging and a bit tedious.

Mindblower

Came here through Tai, and stayd for Matt. Gives a fine understanding of behavioral patterns, along with some widely applicable knowledge

Excellent

Should be required reading for all humans. i immediately ordered the print version and started listening to the audio book a second time.

Awesome read

This is an awesome book with an in depth understanding of our brain and how it works

Validating "Right-brainers" like me

I found this to be one the landmark books in my reading history. Prof Lieberman and his co-workers have proven through experiments what many philosophers, artists, and people from all walks of life instinctively knew (or were "wired" to recognise), that a goal-driven, task-obsessed approach is NOT our default mode. Convenient as it may be for us to be able to create a world to our liking, RELATIONSHIPS are the main drivers in human society. My eyes have been opened to exciting new growth possibilities and my personal history and career moves validated by what I have learned from "Social".

Pretty good read

I enjoyed this read very much. There were many different sections of this book that help illuminate the way the human mind works.
Don't expect to finish this book and have a deep understanding of the topic. Instead appreciate how Liebermann sums up the material in a broad, easy to understand manner.
I particularly enjoyed the discussions about autistic children and their challenges, as well as his proposal to implement social skills-based learning at the junior high school level. Great thought-provoking and conversational material.

helpful listen for a better life

the studies in this book gave me a much greater insight into our need for social interaction. the benefit that we get from our relationships is quite interesting

i loved it

it was very knowledgebase. I loved every chapter and the reader was great! I learned about being social.

This is a social review

A book that help me understand WHY I am always thinking socially everywhere I go.

A must buy!