'Social Siberia' Isn't Just a Metaphor

Vocal minorities can temporarily sway the masses

(NEWSER) - Wondering about the future of the Tea Party, or what affect the Occupy Movement might have on Democrats? Try asking a bunch of fish. Scientists have found that in a school of fish, a "vocal minority"—that is, a group determined to swim in a certain direction—can entice a less-committed majority to follow. But when uncommitted fish are introduced, they tend to follow the majority. More»

Researchers cite ancient fears of exclusion

(NEWSER) - Just four seconds of silence in the middle of a conversation can be excruciating, research finds: That pause can leave us feeling left out and awkward, reports Time . “Conversational flow is associated with positive emotions, and a heightened sense of belonging, self-esteem, social validation and consensus,” researchers report in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology . “Disrupting the flow by a brief silence produces feelings of rejection and negative emotions.” More»

Analysts probe data for behavioral trends

(NEWSER) - You can learn a lot when you’re listening to 550 million people. Using linguistic software, Facebook analysts investigated what people were saying in status updates, and came up with a number of interesting trends, Business Insider reports:

• The oldsters chatter quite a bit: Status update length was the best way to predict age. Older people also tend to talk more about religion and family.

Hard-wired helpfulness separates us from chimps

(NEWSER) - An inborn urge to be helpful may a key universal trait that makes us distinctively human, according to biologists. Experiments have found that babies just 12 months old are naturally helpful—pointing to help an adult find a lost item, for example—while chimpanzees aren't. The helpful instinct was found across all cultures, in children considered too young to fully comprehend social rules. More»

Same Spot as Sex Urges

(NEWSER) - It turns out sex and sentimentality are linked after all, reports Reuters. Scientists have pinpointed areas of the brain that determine an individual's warm and fuzzy feelings—which they say are the same regions that control sex and some food urges. Researchers hope the findings may help explain brain evolution and give insights into social psychiatric disorders like autism and schizophrenia. More»