Want to Improve Your Psychological Wellbeing? Try Diversifying Your Social Portfolio
Social connections are fundamental to our psychological health. However, these relationships come in many forms, ranging from the strong bonds we share with loved ones to the weaker ties we have with acquaintances, colleagues, or even strangers we encounter in our daily lives. Researchers have long examined how these distinct types of social connections contribute to our wellbeing. Strong ties, such as those with close friends and family, provide us with intimacy, emotional support, and a deep sense of belonging. At the same time, weaker social connections have their own unique benefits. Casual interactions with acquaintances or brief exchanges with strangers tend to make us happy and often serve as bridges to new information, resources, opportunities, and perspectives.
Given the varied benefits of both strong and weak social ties, an intriguing question emerges: what combination of social interactions might be most beneficial for our overall wellbeing? A fascinating series of studies, led by Dr. Hanne Collins, a professor of management at UCLA, addresses this question by introducing the concept of social portfolio diversity. Drawing inspiration from the idea of diversified financial portfolios being optimal for our financial health, the researchers explore the possibility that variety in our social connections might be optimal for our psychological health.
The research involved four distinct samples totaling over 50,000 participants from eight countries. The researchers employed a range of methodologies to explore the relationship between social portfolio diversity and wellbeing. For example, they used a day reconstruction method, asking participants to recall their previous day's activities and interactions in detail. Another study analyzed data from the American Time Use Survey, which provides comprehensive information about how Americans spend their time. A third study examined data from a World Health Organization survey on global aging and adult health, which included participants from China, Ghana, India, Mexica, Russia, and South Africa. Finally, they analyzed data from a French mobile application that prompted users to report their current activities, emotions, and social interactions throughout the day.
Across all these diverse data sources, the researchers calculated each participant's social portfolio diversity. This measure took into account both the number of different types of relationships a person engaged with (such as friends, family members, coworkers, acquaintances, or strangers) and how much these interactions were distributed among these categories. The more someone's social time is spread across different categories of connections, the higher her or his social portfolio diversity.
The researchers then examined how this diversity related to various measures of wellbeing, such as personal happiness, life satisfaction, and a range of positive and negative emotional states. They statistically controlled for factors like the total amount of social interaction, the diversity of activities people engaged in, and various demographic characteristics.
The study's findings were consistent across these different populations and methods. Whether looking at day reconstruction surveys, time-use data, or real-time experience sampling through a mobile app, the results showed that individuals with more diverse social portfolios reported higher levels of wellbeing. This relationship held even when accounting for how much time people spent socializing overall and the variety of activities they engaged in.
What's particularly intriguing about this research is that it suggests a potentially time-neutral way to enhance our wellbeing. While increasing the sheer number of social interactions can be challenging given the constraints of our daily lives, we might be able to boost our wellbeing simply by diversifying the types of people we interact with throughout our day or week.
The implications of this research are far-reaching. It encourages us to step out of our social comfort zones and engage with a wider variety of people in our daily lives. As I wrote about in a previous newsletter, even interactions with those we strongly disagree with can be psychologically rewarding. For those of us who work from home or have limited opportunities for diverse social interactions, this research underscores the importance of making conscious efforts to broaden our social horizons. It might involve joining clubs or groups with diverse memberships, volunteering in our communities, or even using social media more intentionally to connect with a wider range of people.
As we navigate an increasingly polarized world and the challenges of maintaining connections in our digital age, this research offers a timely perspective on improving our psychological health. By consciously cultivating a more diverse social portfolio we may not only bridge societal divides and broaden our perspectives, but also boost our overall wellbeing.
Have a great weekend!
Clay