Loneliness
- John T Cacioppo &
- William Patrick
WW Norton, 2008 288 pp, hardcover, $25.95 0393061701 | ISBN: 0-393-06170-1
Valentine's Day, although garishly promoted by the greeting card and retail industries, still has the power to induce loneliness in many of the lovelorn. Whether you feel lonely or not, there is now a book written for the interested lay person that will tell you almost everything you ever wanted to know about loneliness and why our brains have evolved to facilitate social integration. From the beginning of Loneliness, Cacioppo and Patrick explain that being lonely is common, but is not equated to depression, even though the two states can have similar effects on cognition. For example, people who are lonely (or depressed) may demonstrate mildly impaired executive functions, particularly on tasks that require the kinds of control processes that help us navigate multitasking situations. Although depression is often briefly evaluated in normal healthy volunteers and patients participating in research studies, loneliness is almost never objectively assessed. However, given the importance of the cognitive impairments observed in people who are lonely, reported by Cacioppo and Patrick in their book, maybe loneliness should be evaluated if you are interested in accounting for variation in performance on cognitive or social tasks. If loneliness is as common as Cacioppo and Patrick claim, then a more successful society should have some self-interest in remedying it, as being lonely affects not only the person who is lonely, but also affects their family, social group and society.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
