Myths about talking to strangers that scientists have debunked

Scientists have debunked myths about talking to strangers. Experiments on Chicago trains and the London Underground showed that passengers who spoke with neighbors enjoyed their trip more. Research also proved that people underestimate the pleasantness of short conversations and mistakenly believe that silence is more comfortable.

Scientists have debunked common myths about talking to strangers. Experiments by Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder on Chicago commuter trains and the London Underground showed that passengers who engaged in conversation with neighbors enjoyed their trip much more. Preliminary surveys indicated the opposite: people mistakenly believed that silence would bring them more comfort. Research by Gillian Sandstrom and Elizabeth Dunn near a Starbucks in Vancouver confirmed that customers who had a brief warm interaction with a barista felt significantly happier. Work by Michael Kardas and Amit Kumar proved that people are greatly mistaken in fearing they will seem intrusive—both ordinary conversations and candid confessions go better than the speaker expects. Harvard researchers Diana Tamir and Jason Mitchell found that talking about oneself activates the brain's reward system, like favorite food or money. A random fellow traveler has no shared history and will not judge one's actions, making trains and taxis an ideal setting for unexpected confessions. Psychologists recommend that those prone to excessive openness with strangers know when to stop.

Myths about talking to strangers that scientists have debunked