Despite the fact that so many people profess to dislike making small talk, it turns out that talking to strangers and acquaintances can actually strengthen our mental health and enrich our lives. What do we gain from meeting new people? What have we been missing out on this past year as COVID-19 has restricted these social interactions? And how can we become better at talking to strangers? We discuss these questions with Gillian Sandstrom, PhD, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex who studies what she calls “minimal social interactions,” and Jon Levy, a consultant, writer and speaker who founded “the Influencers Dinner,” a regular gathering that brings together strangers who are leaders in their fields.
Links
Gillian Sandstrom, PhD
Jon Levy
Perfectionism: When good is never good enough, with Gordon Flett, PhD, and Bonnie Zucker, PsyD
Revealing the Hidden Brain, with Shankar Vedantam
Why can some people speak dozens of languages? with Ev Fedorenko, PhD
Abortion and mental health, with Antonia Biggs, PhD
How living with secrets can harm you, with Michael Slepian, PhD
Can an app improve your health? With Gary Bennett, PhD
Racism, racial discrimination and mental health, with Riana Elyse Anderson, PhD
What is dissociative identity disorder? With Bethany Brand, PhD
Are we in a ‘loneliness pandemic’? With Louise Hawkley, PhD
Is technology killing empathy? With Sherry Turkle, PhD
What psychology has to say about art, with Ellen Winner, PhD
How exercise benefits the brain, with Jenny Etnier, PhD
Surviving the trauma of war in Ukraine, with Laura Murray, PhD
How to keep stress from harming your health, with George Slavich, PhD
How grieving changes the brain, with Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD
How to Keep Anger from Getting the Best of You with Howard Kassinove, PhD, and Raymond “Chip” Tafrate, PhD
Why psychopathy is more common than you think, with Abigail Marsh, PhD
Ambiguous loss and the “myth of closure,” with Pauline Boss, PhD
How our siblings influence our lives, with Laurie Kramer, PhD, and Megan Gilligan, PhD
Poker, con artists and the psychology of risk and deception, with Maria Konnikova, PhD
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