The social brain. We saw that people are better than chance at predicting a partner s cooperation. But how?

Transcription

1 The social brain We saw that people are better than chance at predicting a partner s cooperation. But how? cognitive adaptations: is there a cheater-detection module? reading minds with a theory of mind reading faces emotions as honest signals

2 The Wason selection task Each card has a number on one side and a colored patch on the other side. Proposition: if a card shows an even number on one face, then its opposite face is red Question: Which card(s) must you turn over in order to test the truth of the proposition?

3 Most people get the abstract problems wrong, but varies with content. Which content elicits correct answers, and why? Cosmides and Tooby: people have minds adapted to solve social problems, not abstract logical problems So should be easier to solve when phrased as a social rule: a benefit only available to someone who qualifies for the benefit (caveats)

4 Cheater detection and the Wason selection task (abstract problem) Part of your new clerical job at the local high school is to make sure that student documents have been processed correctly. Your job is to make sure the documents conform to the following alphanumeric rule: If a person has a D rating, then his documents must be marked code 3 ( If P then Q ) The cards below have information about the documents of four people who are enrolled at this high school. Each card represents one person. One side represents a person s letter rating, the back side his number code. Indicate only those card(s) you definitely need to turn over to see if the documents of any of these people violate this rule:

5 Wason selection task (social contract problem) In its crackdown against drunk drivers, Salt Lake City law enforcement officers are revoking liquor licenses left and right. You are a bouncer in a Salt Lake bar, and you ll lose your license unless you enforce the following: If a person is drinking beer, then he must be over 20 years old ( If P then Q ) The cards below have information about four people sitting at a table in your bar. Each card represents one person. One side of a card tells what a person is drinking, and the other side tells that person s age. Indicate only those card(s) you definitely need to turn over to see if any of these people are breaking the law:

6 Wason selection task (perspective-taking) Rule: If an employee gets a pension (P) then that employee must have worked for the firm for at least 10 years (Q). pension no pension worked didn t work P not P Q not Q What cards do you have to turn over to see if the rule has been violated? (a) you are the employer P and not-q (b) you are the employee not-p and Q

7 Theory of Mind and Social intelligence Theory of mind ( mindreading ): We engage in social reasoning by understanding mental states of others. Mind-reading allows one to predict behavior (even when there are no behavioral cues). Helps in sending as well as receiving facilitates deception (and decoding of deception)

8 Reading minds with a theory of mind Theory of mind ( mindreading ): We engage in social reasoning by understanding mental states of others. What would the world look like if you were mindblind? Very young children are mindblind, most animals (except apes), and is one hypothesis for social deficits in autism

9 Autism Social interaction with others often difficult Problems with nonverbal and sometimes verbal communication Less imaginative play Sometimes strong visual and spatial skills The social problems may reflects mindblindness : lack of a concept of other people s minds (or their own) Deception: Children with autism can put something out of sight, but not out of another s mind Emotion: Children with autism can recognize happiness and sadness, have trouble recognizing surprise.

10 Developmental components of mind-reading (Baron-Cohen) Intentionality detector (infancy) (infants ascribe agency to self-propelled motion) Gaze monitoring and shared attention (9-14 months) Theory of mind (false belief tests at 4 years) See again the intentionality bias clips in Fun and Games on the website

11 Developmental components of mind-reading (Baron-Cohen) Intentionality detector (infancy) Gaze monitoring and shared attention (9-14 months) Theory of mind (false belief tests at 4 years)

12 Seeing leads to knowing Which candy will Charlie take? Gaze-monitoring and shared attention based on this; impaired in autism.

13 Seeing leads to knowing

14 Developmental components of mind-reading (Baron-Cohen) Intentionality detector (infancy) Gaze monitoring and shared attention (9-14 months) Theory of mind (false belief tests at 4 years)

15 Theory of mind and False belief tests Can the child distinguish his own (true) belief from someone else s different (false) belief?

16 A Human Cognitive Specialty Mind-reading in primates? Anecdotes of deception in primates Ability to recognize goals and intentions in primates Shared attention? Chimps will follow the gaze of others, but not clear what it tells them Evidence for theory of mind is thin in non-human species (See Warneken and Saxe videos)

17 Emotional expressions as honest signals Felt (genuine) smiles vs. posed (social) smiles: Real smiles involve outer orbicularis oculi (muscles that produce crows feet) Real smiles are more symmetrical, differ in timing Real smiles are not (usually) under conscious control Produced by different parts of the brain

18 Genuine smiles elicit trust, signal cooperation Brown, Palmetta, and Moore 2003 study: selected altruists and non-altruists (from dictator games, etc) 1 minute video segment of story-telling video clip of them giving advice to partner in a game video clip of self-presentation (name, likes, dislikes) Results: people could detect altruists better than chance. Altruists gave more genuine smiles, not more social open smiles People rated honest smilers as higher on concern for others

19 Social emotions and reciprocity Guilt, shame, vengeance, righteous indignation: They ensure cooperation and reciprocity, but often costly, sometimes irrational. What is the benefit?

20 Summary Cognition specialized for solving social problems Social contract problems easier than abstract logic problems Social intelligence comes from understanding the mental states of others (attributing intention to agents, shared attention, theory of mind) Emotion specialized for solving social problems Social emotions (guilt, shame, etc) ensure social cooperation, reciprocity Genuine (hard to fake) smiles perceived as a signal of altruistic behavior Hard-to-fake emotions may confer a long-term benefit as commitment devices