We created a podcast to learn more about the neuroscience of college friendships. We were curious to figure out how college students’ social relationships contribute to their overall wellness. To find that out, Jaden and Valerie interviewed Dr. Janice McCabe, a Dartmouth sociologist who researches the social network types of college students. Afterwards, Kim and Sammi discuss a neuroscience article by Masten and colleagues (2010) that investigated how time spent with friends could reduce adolescents’ neural sensitivity to social exclusion. Overall, this episode’s takeaway is that understanding your social network type (e.g. being a tight-knitter, compartmentalizer or sampler) and spending time with friends may be helpful to flourishing in one’s social wellness and responding effectively to social exclusion.

Description written by Jaden Cloobeck
Podcast for Professor Sharon Thompson-Schill's Neuroscience and Society class at the University of Pennsylvania (Fall 2021).

College Friendship & Neuroscience Podcast

Jaden Cloobeck

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