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The art of adjusting communication
Imagine a 5-year-old explaining a game to a same-aged friend, and then explaining the same game to a toddler. What’s different? When explaining to the toddler, the child takes longer and emphasizes key points more than when explaining to a peer. Research shows that children with more diverse social experiences early in life, like attending daycare, are better at making these adjustments.
Brains built for social interaction
The ability to predict what others know, want, or believe, is called theory of mind and plays an important role. This skill acts like a mental tuning fork, helping them ‘tune’ their communication to the right frequency depending on who they are talking to. It appears that children are better at fine-tuning this skill when they have more varied social interactions. Their brains have been ‘trained’ to adapt, switching their communication style depending on their interaction partner.
A recent study sheds light on how our brains integrates social cues and stereotypical believes about the interaction partner during communication. The medial prefrontal cortex is a key region that helps us adapt our communication styles, such as placing more emphasis when explaining a game to a younger child. This brain area continues to develop into young adulthood, so our ability to adjust communication depending on an interaction partner evolves over time. Early exposure to diverse social settings strengthens these brain connections, enabling easier shifts between communicating with peers, younger kids, or adults.
Building communication superpowers
In conclusion, the brain’s ability to adapt communication is a skill that develops through diverse social experiences. From daycare to family gatherings, children’s brains are constantly refining how they adjust their communication to match the needs of their interaction partners. This adaptability is crucial for navigating various social settings, allowing for more effective and meaningful interactions. Ultimately, these studies remind us that communication is not just about talking, but about fine-tuning how we connect with others throughout life’s many social contexts.
Credits
Auteur: Hilde Althof
Buddy: Lucas Geelen
Redactie: Elena Markantonakis
Vertaling: Maartje Koot
Redactie vertaling: Hilde Althof
Beeld van Caroline Hernandez via Unplash
