Was the day nice? The probability increases if you have at least a good conversation with a friend. Researchers led by Jeffrey Hall of the University of Kansas publish this in the journal »Communication research«. Originally, they wanted to find out what actually makes good conversations. But as it turned out, these details weren’t really important.
The research group asked more than 900 students to have a conversation with a friend at least once a day. Each person was given only one task: to conduct a deep conversation, exchange news, fool around, show interest or appreciation, listen or sincere compliments. In the evening they should give information about how they feel.
Talking on the phone is better than not talking at all
Compared to a control group that received no such instruction, they felt slightly better on average in the evening. Most importantly, they felt less stress and more connected to others. And the more such conversations, the greater their impact on well-being. However, once a day was enough for contact to have an effect, preferably face-to-face. However, contacts over the phone or through social media were better than nothing. The extent to which they had good conversation played no role in the beneficial effect: the decisive factor seemed to be whether there was any good conversation at all.
“Alcohol buff. Troublemaker. Introvert. Student. Social media lover. Web ninja. Bacon fan. Reader.”