Instant messages vs. speech: hormones and why we still need to hear each other

Abstract

Human speech evidently conveys an adaptive advantage, given its apparently rapid dissemination through the ancient world and global use today. As such, speech must be capable of altering human biology in a positive way, possibly through those neuroendocrine mechanisms responsible for strengthening the social bonds between individuals. Indeed, speech between trusted individuals is capable of reducing levels of salivary cortisol, often considered a biomarker of stress, and increasing levels of urinary oxytocin, a hormone involved in the formation and maintenance of positive relationships. It is not clear, however, whether it is the uniquely human grammar, syntax, content and/or choice of words that causes these physiological changes, or whether the prosodic elements of speech, which are present in the vocal cues of many other species, are responsible. In order to tease apart these elements of human communication, we examined the hormonal responses of female children who instant messaged their mothers after undergoing a stressor. We discovered that unlike children interacting with their mothers in person or over the phone, girls who instant messaged did not release oxytocin; instead, these participants showed levels of salivary cortisol as high as control subjects who did not interact with their parents at all. We conclude that the comforting sound of a familiar voice is responsible for the hormonal differences observed and, hence, that similar differences may be seen in other species using vocal cues to communicate.

Mistaking minds and machines: How speech affects dehumanization and anthropomorphism.

“…Our experiments suggest that these voiceless media might remove an important human element from these interactions. In one experiment, adolescent women facing a stressful event became more relaxed when they were able to call their mother on the phone and hear her voice directly, but became no more relaxed when they were able to "chat" using text with their mothers (Seltzer, Prososki, Ziegler, & Pollak, 2012). Although people are generally much happier connecting with others than being alone (Kahneman & Deaton, 2010), connecting with others online (using Facebook) in one study significantly reduced happiness over time (Kross et al, 2013).…”

Neural circuits underlying mother’s voice perception predict social communication abilities in children

“…For example, hearing a recording of one's own mother's voice is a source of emotional comfort for preschoolers during stressful situations, even when the content of the speech is meaningless (5). Furthermore, when school-age females experience a stressful situation, hearing their mother's voice reduces children's cortisol levels, a biomarker of stress, and increases oxytocin levels, a hormone associated with social bonding (4). These studies have highlighted the profound influence that mother's voice has on children's cognitive, emotional, and social function.…”

“…Early exposure to mother's voice facilitates recognition of this sound source and establishes it as a preferred stimulus: From the first days of life, children can identify their mother's voice and will actively work to hear this sound source in preference to unfamiliar female voices (2). Throughout development, communicative cues in mother's voice convey critical information to guide behavior (4)(5)(6) and learning (7). For example, hearing a recording of one's own mother's voice is a source of emotional comfort for preschoolers during stressful situations, even when the content of the speech is meaningless (5).…”

Effects of the Internet on young people: A view from neuroscience

“…Weinschenk (2009)liệt kê một loạt các đặc điểm cơ bản của Facebook và các loại mạng xã hội, làm cho chúng đặc biệt kích thích sự sản sinh dopamine: (1) sự phản ứng ngay lập tức (ví dụ: nút "thích, bình luận, chia sẻ"), cung cấp sự thích thú ngay lập tức, (2) sự mong chờ/ dự đoán phản ứng, dẫn tới sự hưng phấn cao độ và các hoạt động não bộ nhiều hơn; (3) những mẩu thông tin nhỏ (ví dụ: một nút "thích", có thể kích hoạt mạnh mẽ hệ thống dopamine); (4) cơ chế phản hồi không dự đoán được, kích thích sự sản sinh dopamine trong não [43]. Tuy nhiên có một nghịch lý là người sử dụng càng kết nối nhiều trên mạng xã hội, họ càng cảm thấy cô đơn [44] và những tin nhắn không có giá trị gì trong việc hỗ trợ tình cảm, so sánh với các công cụ giao tiếp bằng lời khác [45]. Burke et al (2011)kết luận rằng kết quả có lợi của mạng xã hội đối với các mối quan hệ chỉ xuất hiện với những mối quan hệ có sẵn, thay vì những người bạn mới chỉ quen biết trên mạng [46].…”