At a crowded gathering, some people focus almost entirely on the person speaking to them. Others seem to notice the entire room. They may remember that two colleagues spent most of the evening together, that one guest repeatedly moved between different groups or that someone who appeared unfamiliar was warmly greeted by several people. They may not consciously think, “I am studying this group's social structure.” Yet psychologists have found that humans can acquire and use information about who is connected to whom, including relationships between people who are not directly interacting with us. Researchers describe this ability as social network cognition: the mental process of learning, representing and using information about relationships within a group. So someone who naturally notices conversations at a gathering may be doing more than simply being observant. Their attention may be picking up social connections and gradually turning individual interactions into a mental map of the room.
