The Social Biome
How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us
Published on 11. February 2025
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-300-27214-7 (ISBN)
Description
A deep dive into the importance of daily communication and how we can harness its power to create a better life
We spend much of our waking lives communicating with others. How does each moment of interaction shape not only our relationships but also our worldviews? And how can we create moments of connection that improve our health and well-being, particularly in a world in which people are feeling increasingly isolated?
Drawing from their extensive research, Andy J. Merolla and Jeffrey A. Hall establish a new way to think about our relational life: as existing within "social biomes"-complex ecosystems of moments of interaction with others. Each interaction we have, no matter how unimportant or mundane it might seem, is a building block of our identities and beliefs. Consequently, the choices we make about how we interact and who we interact with-and whether we interact at all-matter more than we might know. Merolla and Hall offer a sympathetic, practical guide to our vital yet complicated social lives and propose realistic ways to embrace and enhance connection and hope.
We spend much of our waking lives communicating with others. How does each moment of interaction shape not only our relationships but also our worldviews? And how can we create moments of connection that improve our health and well-being, particularly in a world in which people are feeling increasingly isolated?
Drawing from their extensive research, Andy J. Merolla and Jeffrey A. Hall establish a new way to think about our relational life: as existing within "social biomes"-complex ecosystems of moments of interaction with others. Each interaction we have, no matter how unimportant or mundane it might seem, is a building block of our identities and beliefs. Consequently, the choices we make about how we interact and who we interact with-and whether we interact at all-matter more than we might know. Merolla and Hall offer a sympathetic, practical guide to our vital yet complicated social lives and propose realistic ways to embrace and enhance connection and hope.
Reviews / Votes
"Finally, a science-based user guide for how to navigate social interactions to live better lives. Elegantly written and grounded in cutting-edge research, The Social Biome is a tour de force."-Ethan Kross, author of Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It"With loneliness and isolation on the rise, our need for dignified connection has never been greater. This timely book gives us the skills to navigate the social world so that we can experience the power of belonging and the loving relationships we all yearn for."-Donna Hicks, Ph.D., author of Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict
"Friendship is the most important thing you can have in life. If you do just one thing next week, read The Social Biome to find out why it matters and how to do it better."-Robin Dunbar, author of Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships
"How refreshing to aspire toward life-giving social belonging! The Social Biome provides doable actions and shows how mere moments of day-to-day interactions accumulate to satisfy our human need to belong."-Louise Hawkley, senior fellow, NORC at the University of Chicago
"In this galvanizing book, Andy Merolla and Jeffrey Hall explain how and why we've become more and more self-focused and provide a practical prescription for making small changes to add more social connection to our lives."-Gillian Sandstrom, director, The Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness, University of Sussex
"One of the most important books in recent years about the relevance of social life to human health."-Stephen M. Yoshimura, director, Communication and Well-Being Lab, University of Montana
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
4 b-w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 223 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
400 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-27214-7 (9780300272147)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Andy J. Merolla is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He lives in Santa Barbara, CA. Jeffrey A. Hall is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies and the director of the Relationships and Technology Lab at the University of Kansas. He lives in Lawrence, KS.