The Brain Responds Uniquely to People You Know Personally

Does Your Brain Act Differently To These Four Combinations?

Do you make judgments about other people based on how similar they are to you? Is it more important that people are close to you, either a close friend or a relative?  Do you think that brain regions fire when you think about people that you don’t know, but feel similar to, as though you were connected to them through kinship or previous friendship? There was a study conducted that showed that when people answered questions about friends, whether or not they felt they were similar to them, the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) was active.

What is the Medial Prefrontal Cortex?

The MPFC wasn’t active when people thought about others that they don’t know, but had common interests with. The study shows that our MPFC was activated with those that we know, regardless of common interests. It can be likened Facebook vs Twitter.

How does this apply to design?

"All social media are not alike. It may be important to distinguish between social media for friends and relatives versus social media for people you’re not already connected to." "People are “programmed” to pay special attention to friends and relatives. Social media around friends and relatives will be more motivating and garner more loyalty. You’re more likely to check your Facebook page five times a day than your LinkedIn page because the former is about friends and relatives."

Works CIted: Weinschenk, S., PH.D. (2011). 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People [Kindle]. pg. 157-158