Human behaviour is contagious - so what are you spreading?
For some reason, us humans like to think that we are independent, and that others only influence us when we let them. But social scientists know that the moods and behaviours of other people are highly contagious - just like coronavirus.
On the downside, things like divorce and weight gain can spread through your social group. In terms of the figures, longitudinal studies have shown that you are 75% more likely to get divorced if someone in your close circle of friends and family gets divorced, and 33% more likely to get divorced if a friend of a friend breaks up (i). (So with two degrees of separation, you’re still at greater risk of separation…). When it comes to your waistline, you’re much more likely to become obese if your friend, sibling or spouse packs on the pounds (ii).
On the upside, positive behaviours and moods can also be contagious. So if you have a friend living near you and they become happier, that warm glow rubs off on you. Likewise if you have a happy brother, sister, husband or wife (iii). Some really bizarre things are contagious too – just look up the dancing ‘epidemic’ of 1518…
The reason this matters is that the people around you will affect you, often in ways that you don’t realise. So be intentional about who you spend your time with. Seek out people with good character, people who build you up, and people who want to make the world a better place.
When you choose a job, think carefully about whether you want to become like the employees in that organisation.
And on the flipside – never underestimate the influence that you can have on other people. What you do, and who you are, matters. Which begs the question – what are you spreading? And is it by accident or design?
(This post was originally published on the Collective Wisdom blog, which has now been integrated with Thrive Lab)
(i) McDermott, R., Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2013). Breaking up is hard to do, unless everyone else is doing it too: Social network effects on divorce in a longitudinal sample. Social Forces, 92(2), 491-519.
(ii) Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2007). The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years. New England journal of medicine, 357(4), 370-379.
(iii) Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. Bmj, 337, a2338.