Winning Mark

In 2000, Nicholas Christakis began to question how behaviors are spread. Eventually, this question led him to James Fowler and the two published a paper on the subject in 2007. They looked at social network data from an extensive, multi-generation study looking at the small town of Framingham, Massachusetts and found that behaviors like smoking, gaining weight and general happiness tended to happen in clusters. So as one person gained weight, others within their social network also gained. This effect occurred up to three degrees away from the initial precipitator, so it could be that if a friend of a friend of yours quits smoking, you’re more likely to, as well.

The explanations of this effect are contested and also not necessarily mutually exclusive. Christakis and Fowler suggest that it’s subconscious social cues that others pick up on, while other scientists, such as Jason Fletcher, argue that it could be caused by people to surround themselves with others like them. However, no social behaviors occur in a vacuum, so isn’t it possible that these theories are playing off each other, building to the whole picture we’re seeing? No matter what is causing behaviors within social networks to be similar, it’s a fascinating phenomenon and certainly worth looking at.

“As Fowler pointed out, if you want to improve the world with your good behavior, math is on your side. For most of us, within three degrees we are connected to more than 1,000 people— all of whom we can theoretically help make healthier, fitter and happier just by our contagious example. ‘If someone tells you that you can influence 1,000 people,’ Fowler said, ‘it changes your way of seeing the world.’”

To see more of Christakis and Fowler's study and their implications, read the article "Are Your Friends Making You Fat" by Clive Thompson

Posted by Megan Ingram on October 12, 2009 in Featured, Front, Home Page