The Science of Human Connection

Emerging over the past two decades, the Science of Human Connection is a new area of study in the field of developmental psychology, pioneered by Dr. Niobe Way and her collaborators and research team. As outlined in her forthcoming book with Harvard University Press, The Science of Human Connection and Disconnection: A Five-Part Story, this field of research bridges dozes of scientific disciplines—from social neuroscience and evolutionary biology to anthropology and developmental psychology—to investigate what brings us together and drives us apart. A path from our innate capacity to connect with one another to society’s modern crisis of connection is mapped with a five-part story:

Part 1 | Our Innate Capacity to Connect: Humans are born with an ability and need to establish social and emotional connections.

Part 2 | A Culture Incompatible With Our Nature: We grow up in a culture that does not value the qualities we need to thrive, prioritizing the self and autonomy over relationships. Moreover, our culture perpetuates harmful ideologies (e.g., patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism) premised on a hierarchy of humanness.

Part 3 | A Crisis of Connection: The clash between our nature and culture has resulted in a crisis of connection, marked by increasing loneliness, depression, distrust of others, and division.

Part 4 | The Fallout: The consequences of loneliness and the crisis of connection are wide-ranging and severe. These include: violence against others and ourselves, hate crimes, substance use, income and educational inequality, and homelessness, among others. The weight of the crisis demands urgent solutions at the cultural level.

Part 5 | Solutions: We can bring about real change if we recognize the dehumanizing stereotypes in our culture that fueled the crisis of connection, actively work to change this culture and disrupt the hierarchy of humanness, and replace judgement with curiosity to build connections within and across communities.

For almost four decades, Dr. Way and her students have been investigating each part of the five-part story, with their research focus being on the first and second and fifth parts of the story. Their findings as it relates to the science of human connection have indicated that: (1) all humans need close relationships, including friendships, and have the social and emotional skill and capacities to have them; (2) Emotionally intimate friendships are linked to positive mental health for all adolescents including boys and young men; (3) There is a crisis of connection among boys and young men in which they struggle to find the friendships that they want and need as they grow up; (4) There is a culture/nature clash in which masculine ideologies and the hierarchy of humanness and human qualities that lead to negative stereotypes and discrimination get in the way of healthy human development; and (5) The solution to the crisis is to listen with curiosity.

"We are called to build a movement to mend the social fabric of our nation...It will require reimagining the structures, policies, and programs that shape a community to best support the development of healthy relationships."

— Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General

"Understanding society’s ills as symptoms of a fundamental crisis of connection, rather than as merely a mental health crisis, an epidemic of loneliness, deepening group divides, or as alarming violent trends, opens the door for solutions of unprecedented breadth and scope. In other words, the science of human connection may hold the key to addressing modern-day issues across the board, all at the level of primary prevention."

— Dr. Niobe Way