I think it’s important to look at human behavior and human interaction with media from a broad perspective. Findings from biology, neuroscience, and evolution can challenge us to rethink traditional theoretical heuristics from psychology (and elsewhere) that inform our judgments about everything from media use and development to assessing media experience. Adriaan called my attention to this provocative blog entry (Why we laugh together and can't get enough of TV) about the role of narrative in a social context to teach individuals the accepted beliefs and behaviors within an individual’s cultural context. In essence, monitoring the responses of others in your social group “calibrates” your behavior to that of the group. Adriaan argues that the human social brain is tricked by television, and driven to watch programs--often by ourselves--by our social brain, but without the social feedback. Thus it becomes wasted time. I absolutely agree with the use of narrative as a … [Read more...]