Psychologists Have Found a Way to Measure When People ‘Click’

What lies at the center of a satisfying chat? A team of scientists are working to quantify what drives our social connections.

By Gabe Allen
Mar 7, 2022 4:00 PMMar 8, 2022 10:36 PM
connection
(Credit: GaudiLab/Shutterstock)

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Each semester, Emma Templeton, a Ph.D. candidate and investigator for Dartmouth Social Systems Lab, sits down for coffee dates with a rotating cast of ambitious college kids. It’s part of her job as a resident fellow for Dartmouth’s East Wheelock House. The conversations that she has are as diverse as the young minds that occupy the dormitory. Some students are looking for academic guidance; some want help organizing a social event; and some just need a listening ear. “The experience can take so many different shapes," she says. "I’m never sure how it’s going to go when I show up." 

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