Socializing & Happiness

I have read that socializing with others generally increases a person’s happiness. I do not find that myself. I enjoy some socializing and being with some people. However, I turn down more requests to socialize than I accept, and some think I am weird. Do you know any research about this?

 A study was done in 2016 by Li and Kanazawa, 2016) and published in the British Journal of Psychology. The long-term study followed adults ages 18 and 28 and studied population density and personal satisfaction with life. According to the authors, generally those who lived in less densely populated areas were more satisfied with life. Also, the more people socialized, the happier they were. The study found a fascinating exception: people with high intelligence tended to experience lower life satisfaction with more frequent socialization with friends. The researchers found that with intelligence comes more of a focus on long-term projects and goals. Frequent socialization may distract them from their long-term and satisfying projects. From a brain-function perspective, the human brain is relational and needs some socialization. The ideal amount, however, varies based on at least a person’s brain level of extroversion, ambiversion, or introversion. It would be interesting to see a study that looked at this as well as the amount of socialization, intelligence level, and satisfaction.