*_THE SOCIOTYPE: SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND BEYOND_
Raquel del Moral */
/(Bioinformation Group, IACS)*
*
Some years ago in one of the FIS sessions
(https://webmail.unizar.es/pipermail/fis/2006-March/001309.html), Pedro
pointed at the triad "genotype-phenotype-sociotype" and emphasized the
importance of a structure of social bonds around the individual.
Precisely by developing further the Sociotype concept, as a new
construct that describes both the structural & dynamic aspects of the
individual's relationships, I am advancing a PhD Thesis. Also supported
by a Ministry of Science and Innovation's biomedical project, our group
is carrying out an empirical research work in order to develop a
questionnaire able to measure the sociotype, the network of
relationships of the person, in order to correlate it with mental health
and risk (loneliness) situations.
THE SOCIOTYPE: OVERALL PANORAMA
Our work discusses the pertinence of a "sociotype" construct, both
theoretically and empirically oriented. The term, based on the
conceptual chain genotype-phenotype-sociotype, suggests the existence of
an evolutionary 'preference' in the human species for some determined
averages of social organization and communication relationships.
Although human individuals become highly adaptive and resilient
concerning the implementation of their sociality, a core pattern, or
"sociotype" might be established for their networking relationships. The
sociotype appears as a structural/relational pattern which is actively
looked for, and the absence of which provokes predisposition towards
feelings of loneliness and unhappiness. The prospect of establishing
numerical characteristics for that pattern, both structural and dynamic,
does not look too farfetched. Hypothesis such as the "social brain" have
already advanced robust structural data. From the biomedical point of
view, properly framing the sociotype hypothesis and putting it into
empirical test could be a timely enterprise. As a number of contemporary
studies on social networks have reported, perceived isolation and
loneliness feelings turn out to be an unrewarding condition for
individuals, an unwanted state, and also a risk factor for their health.
In our times, the social changes derived from the economic
globalization, the new communication technologies, and the demographic
transition towards elderly populations have implied dramatic changes in
the social relationships of entire communities. Given the absence of
efficient psychosocial indicators, an empirical search on the relational
phenomenon throughout the sociotype lens might provide useful
orientations for mental health and quality of life policies.
OUR SOCIALITY
Sociality is an obvious trait of the human species. Most of the
evolutionary and cultural novelties of our past refer to essential
aspects of sociality --e.g. origins of language, emotional
communication, group behavior, morals and ethics, religious and legal
codes, political institutions, and so on. Hypothesis such as the "social
brain" have contributed to advance a new bond-centered approach on the
evolutionary emergence of human sociality. The presence of a series of
significant regularities in the size and structures of social groups,
notwithstanding their remarkable variability, suggests the plausibility
of a "deep structure" of social bonding for the human species. There
seems to be an average of social networking, with very ample upper and
lower limits, concerning the number and classes of bonding relationships
that an individual is able to maintain meaningfully. The finding of
networking regularities such as the famous "Dunbar's number" (150-200
individual acquaintances) makes a lot of evolutionary and
anthropological sense.
THE SOCIAL BRAIN HYPOTHESIS
The social brain hypothesis has posited that, in primate societies,
selection has favored larger brains and more complex cognitive
capabilities as a mean to cope with the challenges of social life. In
primate societies, a tight correlation has been observed between the
size of social groups and the neocortex relative proportion (roughly,
"brain size"). Actually, the idea of relating brain size with the
demands of communication in social life was already hinted by C. Darwin
in "The Descent of Man" (1871). More than a century later, J. Allman and
others reconsidered the idea and framed it as a social hypothesis. Also
known as the Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis, it was more
rigorously formulated by R. Dunbar (2004) and extended into other mental
and biomedical fields (e.g. human language as a new form of social
"grooming"). Although the hypothesis has been criticized from several
grounds, and it is unclear whether it can be extended to the generality
of mammalian societies, it has gained momentum regarding the
evolutionary explanation of the natural groups and structures formed in
human societies. In our work, the social brain views have been taken as
one of the main references to structurally develop the sociotype hypothesis.
THE SOCIOTYPE HYPOTHESIS
Our work departs from the social brain hypothesis concerning its
empirical, or better, pragmatic orientation. Herein the emphasis will be
put on elaborating a mental-health oriented construct, roughly exploring
the potential applications of the sociotype as an indicator gauging the
whole relational networks of the person, and how much daily
conversation/communication he or she is engaged on a regular basis.
Seemingly, rather than the exchange of functional information, it is
trivial conversation, gossiping about social acquaintances what
represents the human equivalent of primate grooming --subsequently
stimulating in our "social brain" the production of endorphins, which
relieve stress and boost the immune system. Thus, counting with an
appropriate network of relationships that can provide us pieces of
amusing conversation would be an essential ingredient to our social,
psychological and physical well-being. Notwithstanding a number of
recent studies on social networks (technologically oriented) that have
tracked vast amounts of interpersonal exchanges, the metrics of the
relational structures necessary for mental health and well-being have
not been properly addressed yet. The hope is that the progressive
delineation of a sociotype concept, pragmatically oriented, and
susceptible of both theoretical and empirical demarcation, could
contribute to a better understanding of the structures and dynamics of
human sociality, and even provide some practical help when sociality
itself is in crisis, as seem to be happening with the current "epidemics
of loneliness" affecting large population tracts.
LONELINESS AND ITS PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES
In our times the absence of social bonds has become a common experience:
over 80% of children and 40% of those over 65 report feeling alone from
time to time. Loneliness levels gradually decline in the middle years of
adulthood and increase with age (reaching the maximum around age 70).
The lack of social bonds has deleterious effects on health through its
effect on the brain, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA), vascular
processes, blood pressure, gene transcription, inflammatory, immune, and
sleep quality. Research indicates that perceived social isolation (i.e.,
loneliness) is a risk factor, and may contribute to poorer cognitive
performance, greater cognitive impairment and poorer executive function
and an increased negativity and depressive cognition that accentuate
sensitivity to social threats. In fact, loneliness is associated not
only with poor physical health; it also includes psychiatric conditions
such as schizophrenia and personality disorders, suicidal thoughts,
depression and Alzheimer.
A GROWING SOCIAL PROBLEM
In today's society there is a significant change in the way social
relationships are maintained, for the intrusion of the new ITs adds to
the important social disintegration that is occurring for other reasons
(aging, migration, marginalization of minorities, etc.). In our times,
relational networks are apparently larger and faster, but more transient
and devoid of personal contact, so that individuals are at greater risk
of social isolation. The evidence in fast-developing countries is that
economic growth and technological development have gone hand-in-hand
with an increase in mental and behavioral disorders, family
disintegration, social exclusion, and lower social trust.
FINAL QUESTIONS
I have seen in some other sessions that some final questions help to
focus the discussion; I will try with some easy ones:
1. Do you see pertinent the triad "genotype-phenotype-sociotype"?
2. Is there a species average on the number and classes of bonding
relationships?
3. Is face-to-face conversation our fundamental way to actualize social
bonds?
4. And what about the New Technologies relationships? Are they a
surrogate or a helpful tool? Both?
5. Is loneliness exacerbated in contemporary societies?
Thanks! :)
Raquel
--
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Raquel del Moral
Grupo de Bioinformacion / Bioinformation Group
Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud
Avda. San Juan Bosco 13, 50009 Zaragoza
Tfno. +34 976 71 44 76
e-mail.rdelmoral.i...@aragon.es
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