Do you know what part of your brain is responsible for determining what could go viral on social media? The Temporo-Parietal Junction, or the TPJ. Situated near the center on both sides of the brain, just behind the ear, the TPJ is activated when we think of how we want to share something or who we may want to share it with.

If you have been longing for anything to go viral on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube you need to aim for this part of the brain. When the TPJ is activated it lights up and it has nothing to do with whether or not we view the material as interesting or not.

The study used MRI machines to conduct tests on students and these results have recently been published in the Psychological Science journal. The scientists set the students a test regarding what material they should share with each other. In one example, the students had to decide which TV show pilot they would most likely pitch and which they would toss.

While viewing the pilot, if the TPJ was very active it provided a positive prediction on whether the show would be pitched. It also provided how persuasive the students would be while pitching the show. This was called “the salesperson effect” by the psychologists involved.

Matthew Lieberman, senior author for the study said:

We’re constantly being exposed to information on Facebook and Twitter. Some of it we pass on, and a lot of it we don’t. Is there something that happens in the moment we first see it — maybe before we even realise we might pass it on?

Emily Falk conducted the research as a UCLA doctoral student in Lieberman’s Lab said:

Nobody had looked before at which brain regions are associated with the successful spread of ideas. You might expect people to be most enthusiastic and opinionated about ideas that they themselves are excited about, but this research suggests that’s not the whole story.

Thinking about what appeals to others may be even more important.

Although the study showed that the regions in the brain that are associated with memory were activated, the results from the TPJ were not expected.

[Source: Mashable]