In the new study, the researchers collected data from 486 participants - a much larger population sample compared with the 79 participants involved in the previous study. The researchers’ new findings have been published in the journal Psychological Science. Moreover, “With this study, we wanted to find out whether it is primarily the quantity or the quality of our social encounters that matter for one’s well-being,” explains study co-author Anne Milek. “Small talk didn’t positively contribute to happiness, and it didn’t negatively contribute to it,” he observes. “We do not think anymore that there is an inherent tension between having small talk and having substantive conversations,” says Prof. And, to their surprise, only part of the initial findings held strong. Mehl and a team of researchers decided to test those results in a larger and more diverse population sample, using more rigorous data analysis methods. “igher well-being,” the authors wrote, “was associated with having less small talk, and more substantive conversation.” They add that the participants who reported being the happiest spent little time on superficial chit-chats, preferring to engage in more meaningful exchanges. That study asked whether we should strive to have deeper, more meaningful conversations with others to improve our own well-being.Īt that point, their findings appeared to suggest not only that substantive conversations make us happier, but also that indulging in too much small talk could damage our well-being.
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