Dr Matthew Lieberman: How our social selves drive life satisfaction, self-esteem

Amy Alkon's Advice Goddess Radio: "Nerd Your Way To A Better Life!" with the best brains in science.

Dr. Matthew Lieberman's new book is "Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect," and it's filled with fascinating findings on how surprisingly driven we are by our nature as social beings. 

For example, there's a finding by his wife and research partner, Naomi Eisenberger and her colleagues that taking acetaminophen (think Tylenol) actually diminished the pain of being socially excluded. Lieberman explains, "Our sensitivity to social rejection is so central to our well-being that our brains" react to social wounds (and ways to heal from them) much like they do physical ones. 

An important underlying point in his book is that self-esteem is not just "from within." It's deeply affected by whether we're liked or esteemed -- or bullied -- by others (which research finds even affects our IQ).

We'll be discussing many such interesting and unexpected findings on tonight's show, and discussing ways we can each capitalize on what Lieberman has learned from the research.

Join me and all my fascinating guests every Sunday, 7-8 p.m. Pacific Time, 10-11 p.m. Eastern Time, at blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon or subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.