Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Neuroimaging

Lonely individuals tend to think and talk in an unusual way, study finds

by Vladimir Hedrih
November 24, 2024
in Neuroimaging, Social Psychology
(Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

(Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Follow PsyPost on Google News

Two neuroimaging studies found that lonely individuals’ neural representations of well-known celebrities diverged from those typical for their group in the medial prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain. Lonelier individuals were also more likely to use unusual language when describing well-known celebrities and to describe them in ways that were not typical for their group. The research was published in Communications Psychology.

Loneliness is the subjective feeling of being socially isolated or lacking meaningful connections, regardless of actual social contact. It can arise from life transitions, such as moving, losing a loved one, or retiring, as well as from social rejection or a lack of supportive relationships.

Chronic loneliness is linked to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, as well as physical health problems, including weakened immunity, cardiovascular disease, and an increased risk of mortality. Lonely individuals tend to experience lower self-esteem, heightened sensitivity to social rejection, and difficulty forming or maintaining relationships. They may also perceive social interactions more negatively, creating a cycle that reinforces their isolation. In older adults, loneliness is particularly concerning, as it is strongly associated with cognitive decline and dementia. In children and adolescents, it can hinder social development and academic performance.

Study author Timothy W. Broom and his colleagues hypothesized that lonely individuals form mental representations of contemporary culture that deviate from those generally accepted in their social environment. In other words, they think in unusual ways. Because of this, lonely individuals tend to perceive that their ideas are not shared by others, which is a defining feature of loneliness.

Research has shown that socially connected individuals (e.g., friends or romantic partners) tend to have similar neural responses to popular culture media. Building on this, the researchers hypothesized that lonely individuals would have neural responses to popular culture topics (e.g., celebrities) that differ from those of the majority in their group. Additionally, the way they speak about these topics would also be unusual. The researchers conducted two studies to explore these ideas.

The first study analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected from two groups of participants, consisting of 80 individuals in total, with an average age of 20–21 years. While undergoing fMRI scans, participants completed an evaluation asking them to assess their own traits, traits of selected close others, acquaintances, and five well-known celebrities (Justin Bieber, Ellen DeGeneres, Kim Kardashian, Barack Obama, and Mark Zuckerberg). They also rated how close they felt to each of the individuals they evaluated and completed a separate assessment of loneliness using the UCLA Loneliness Scale.

The second study was an online survey conducted with 923 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers, whose average age was 40 years. Participants completed the same loneliness assessment as in the first study and answered a series of questions about a prominent celebrity. Participants were first given a list of 10 celebrities and asked to indicate which ones they were familiar with. A celebrity from their list was then randomly chosen, and participants were asked to describe that celebrity in their own words, as if they were describing them to a friend. Following this, participants rated how close they felt to the celebrity and assessed the extent to which the celebrity possessed various psychological traits from a presented list.

The results of the first study indicated that lonely participants’ neural representations of celebrities diverged from those of the rest of the group. Pairwise comparisons of participants’ brain responses while performing the celebrity evaluation task focused on the medial prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain involved in encoding and retrieving social knowledge. The researchers found that brain responses of lonely individuals in this region were less similar to those of other participants, compared to individuals who felt less lonely. This likely suggests that lonely individuals think about celebrities in more unusual ways.

Interestingly, the study also revealed a particularly strong consensus among participants regarding the neural representations of Justin Bieber compared to the other four celebrities.

In the second study, the researchers conducted a text analysis using Google’s Universal Sentence Encoder to examine the descriptions participants provided about celebrities. They computed the semantic similarity between all possible pairs of participant texts. The analysis revealed that texts written by lonelier individuals tended to be less similar to those written by other participants. Moreover, lonelier individuals were more likely to report feeling that their perceptions of celebrities were inaccurate or not shared by those around them.

“Shared reality fosters social connections between people and increases confidence in one’s knowledge because it is corroborated by others. Our findings provide evidence that loneliness is associated with deviations from the zeitgeist, specifically when it comes to perceptions of well-known celebrities,” the study authors concluded.

“Loneliness corresponded with idiosyncratic [unusual, unique] neural representations of celebrities as well as more idiosyncratic communication about celebrities, particularly when an otherwise strong consensus existed between less lonely people. Lonely individuals’ feeling that their ideas are not shared by the people around them is more than metaphorical; it is objectively reflected in idiosyncratic knowledge of contemporary culture that strays from the consensus.”

This study contributes to the scientific understanding of loneliness. However, it primarily focused on chronic loneliness, as assessed by the study’s measures. Loneliness can also be a temporary or transitory state, and it remains uncertain whether these findings apply solely to chronically lonely individuals or if they also extend to temporary experiences of loneliness.

The paper, “Loneliness corresponds with neural representations and language use that deviate from shared cultural perceptions,” was authored by Timothy W. Broom, Siddhant Iyer, Andrea L. Courtney, and Meghan L. Meyer.

TweetSendScanShareSendPin14ShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

People with psychopathic traits fail to learn from painful outcomes
Narcissism

National narcissism linked to emotional impairments and dehumanization, new study finds

July 7, 2025

A new study suggests that people who see their nation as uniquely important often struggle with recognizing emotions and experience more anger and contempt—factors that may help explain why they’re more likely to dehumanize both outsiders and fellow citizens.

Read moreDetails
Anxious and avoidant attachment are elevated among individuals with eating disorders
Developmental Psychology

Personality may be a key factor connecting negative parenting experiences to adult challenges

July 7, 2025

New research finds a link between how adults recall being parented and their current life difficulties. These challenges may be partly explained by personality traits, such as lower conscientiousness, that are connected to early family environments and adult well-being.

Read moreDetails
Loneliness predicts an increase in TV viewing for older women, but not for men
Sexism

New study finds link between sexism and denial of male victimhood in relationships

July 6, 2025

New research shows that many people endorse myths that minimize abuse against men in relationships. These myths are closely tied to sexist attitudes about masculinity, gender roles, and who is believed to be a “real” victim of violence.

Read moreDetails
Fascinating study reveals how Trump’s moral rhetoric diverges from common Republican language
Donald Trump

Viral AI-images highlight how Trump engages in “victimcould,” scholar argues

July 6, 2025

How can one of the world's most powerful men also be its biggest victim? A new paper argues it’s a political strategy based on hypothetical, not actual, harm—a concept the author calls “victimcould” used to justify present-day aggression.

Read moreDetails
Even mild cases of COVID-19 might result in brain shrinkage and impaired cognitive function
Neuroimaging

Neuroscientists detect decodable imagery signals in brains of people with aphantasia

July 6, 2025

Neuroscientists have found that people with aphantasia show distinct patterns of brain activity during imagery tasks, even without subjective visual experience. The study suggests that mental imagery and conscious visual awareness may rely on different neural mechanisms in the brain.

Read moreDetails
Stress disrupts gut and brain barriers by reducing key microbial metabolites, study finds
Narcissism

How to protect your mental health from a passive-aggressive narcissist

July 5, 2025

Passive aggression is more than just frustrating; it’s a weapon. When someone consistently uses backhanded compliments, sabotage, or the silent treatment, you may be dealing with a narcissist. Here’s how to spot the signs and protect your mental wellbeing.

Read moreDetails
Stress disrupts gut and brain barriers by reducing key microbial metabolites, study finds
Artificial Intelligence

Dark personality traits linked to generative AI use among art students

July 5, 2025

As generative AI tools become staples in art education, a new study uncovers who misuses them most. Research on Chinese art students connects "dark traits" like psychopathy to academic dishonesty, negative thinking, and a heavier reliance on AI technologies.

Read moreDetails
New study suggests Donald Trump’s “fake news” attacks are backfiring
Political Psychology

Scientists are uncovering more and more unsettling facts about our politics

July 5, 2025

Why has politics become so personal? The answers may lie in our minds. These 13 studies from the new science of political behavior reveal the hidden psychological forces—from personality to primal fear—that are driving us further apart.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Being adopted doesn’t change how teens handle love and dating

Probiotics show promise for reducing hyperactivity in young children with autism and ADHD

Number of children affected by parental substance use has surged to 19 million, study finds

National narcissism linked to emotional impairments and dehumanization, new study finds

Personality may be a key factor connecting negative parenting experiences to adult challenges

New research reveals emotional control deficits in generalized anxiety disorder

People with higher cognitive ability have weaker moral foundations, new study finds

Positive attitudes toward AI linked to more prone to problematic social media use

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy