Navigating Our Social Worlds

The same brain areas that help us map physical space help us chart social connections

- ORIEL FELDMANHALL

WHAT DO SOCIAL CLIMBERS and gossipmongers have in common? My mother would tell me that both are morally suspect. This moral umbrage is etched into lessons from fairy tales and scripture that we readily pass on to our children: avoid the schemer and the whisperer.

But stories are known to simplify reality. The truth is that the most effective gossipers and social climbers possess a remarkable grasp of social structure, knowledge they use to cleverly navigate their social worlds. This skill isn't a moral failing; it's a cognitive feat. Our minds are sophisticated engines that mentally map our social landscapes. Who's close to whom? Who belongs to which group? Who's popular, and who's just one step away from power?

Recent work from my laboratory has shown that our mind's representations of the social world—what are known as cognitive maps—shape many of our critical social skills. We use these maps to rise in influence, figure out when we should choose to talk about others, and build tighter bonds with those in our inner circle. Social success depends not just on whom you know but also on how well you understand the invisible architecture of your social world.

Mapping this social architecture is no small feat. Consider the magnitude of the challenge. Real-world social networks are large, with hundreds of people and tens of thousands of possible connections. Knowing who is connected to whom is no trivial task. Every time a relationship is forged or destroyed, you need to mentally update that map. My colleagues and I wanted to understand what type of cognitive map would enable you to constantly keep stock of the changing social landscape. And perhaps more important, we wanted to know why someone would take the time and effort to mentally track the web of connections that surrounds them. It turns out that building a cognitive map of your social network affords quite a lot; in fact, it gives you superpowers.