helio's lectures

Question 1

INTRO TO I&SC
What is social cognition?

Answer 1

Social cognition applies a cognitive framework to social topics, such as empathy, to study social informational processes.

Question 2

INTRO TO I&SC:
Which fields contribute to social cognition?

Answer 2

Social cognition integrates insights from neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and developmental psychology.

Question 3

INTRO TO I&SC:
What methods are used to study social cognition?

Answer 3

Physiological responses, facial and body language analyses, and computational models are common methods

Question 4

INTRO TO I&SC:
What is the debate around the “social brain”?

Answer 4

The debate focuses on whether there is a uniquely social brain mechanism for social cognition or if social tasks rely on general cognitive processes shared with other tasks (e.g., recognizing faces vs. recognizing shapes)

Question 5

INTRO TO I&SC:
Is social cognition uniquely human?

Answer 5

Evidence is mixed:

Shared homologous brain areas (e.g., in monkeys and rats) suggest other animals are capable of some social interactions.
However, certain processes, like theory of mind, may be uniquely human—or might not be measurable due to human-centric testing methods (e.g., language).

Question 6

INTRO TO I&SC:
Can social cognition change throughout the lifespan?

Answer 6

Yes, evidence suggests:
Humans have innate socialization mechanisms at birth (e.g., crying, suckling).
Social cognition evolves with development through learning and practice (e.g., developing empathy).

Question 7

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION: What are the two primary types of eye movements involved in gaze?

Answer 7

Fixations: Intentional, prolonged movements that provide high-resolution focus on a stable object.
Saccades: Rapid, small movements between fixations, occurring about 3–4 times per second.

Question 8

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
Why is gaze important in social interactions?

Answer 8

Gaze is crucial for:
Coordinating joint behavior.
Regulating multiparty interactions.
Facilitating social learning, such as through facial and body language.

Question 9

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
What types of information can we gather from gaze?

Answer 9

Gaze provides information about:
Faces and visual cues.
Gaze direction and attention.
Speech and movement cues.

Question 10

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
What are the two processes involved in facial recognition?

Answer 10

Encoding: Learning and processing facial features.
Decoding: Recognizing or identifying faces based on memory.

Question 11

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
How does restricted gaze affect facial recognition?

Answer 11

Restricting fixations to the face, especially to the eyes, reduces recognition ability. Recognition can occur with as few as one or two fixations but is impaired without full access to gaze patterns.

Question 12

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
What is prosopagnosia, and how is it linked to gaze behavior?

Answer 12

Prosopagnosia is the inability to recognize faces, which can result from brain damage or congenital factors. It may involve altered gaze behavior, such as reduced use of eye information during recognition

Question 13

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
How does gaze direction influence emotion recognition?

Answer 13

Gaze patterns vary with the emotion of the stimulus. Happy emotions are recognized more easily. Fixating just below the eyes is optimal for recognizing emotions, even under time constraints.

Question 14

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
How is gaze studied?

Answer 14

free viewing tasks, ask pp to just look at this stimulus picture and track their eyes ( bottom up task)/
specific task e.g. look at what is different with these two images ( top-down task)

Question 15

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
What brain structure is activated during the perception of gaze direction?

Answer 15

The anterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is activated during gaze direction perception, even across different head orientations and physical features.

Question 16

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
How does gaze behavior develop in infancy?

Answer 16

Infants demonstrate gaze cuing, where they look in the direction a target appears to gaze. This behavior suggests a developmental and evolutionary basis for gaze.

Question 17

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
How does autism affect gaze behavior?

Answer 17

Individuals with autism may exhibit differences in eye contact and gaze allocation.
Studies suggest possible eye avoidance and early differences in social gaze processing.
Developmental trajectories in autism highlight both atypical patterns and individual differences in gaze.

Question 18

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
What are the dual functions of gaze?

Answer 18

Acquiring information: Gaze helps us learn about faces and features.
Signaling information: Gaze can indicate social signals such as attention or status.

Question 19

GAZE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION:
What is the significance of individual differences in gaze behavior?

Answer 19

There are stable individual differences in gaze allocation.
These differences influence how people acquire and signal information.
Gaze behavior can vary across tasks and social contexts.

Question 20

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION:
What are the two main models explaining how we express emotions?

Answer 20

Emotion-Expression Model: Emotions have an inbuilt expressive mechanism.
Communicative Motive Model: Emotions are expressed to communicate a purpose, consciously or subconsciously.

Question 21

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION:
What are Darwin’s three principles related to facial expressions and emotions?

Answer 21

Serviceable Habits: Facial expressions serve adaptive functions tied to emotional situations.
Antithesis: Opposing movements create contrasting expressions.
Action of the Nervous System: Behavior is controlled automatically by stimuli.

Question 22

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION:
How did John Dewey and Herbert Mead expand Darwin’s ideas?

Answer 22

Dewey emphasized that facial displays serve practical functions and are primary aspects of action.
Mead added the importance of social context in shaping emotional expressions.

Question 23

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION:
Define affect, emotion, and mood.

Answer 23

Affect: General arousal and valence, scaled by intensity and positivity/negativity.
Emotion: A specific construction of affective experiences with subjective feelings.
Mood: Long-lasting patterns of feelings.

Question 24

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION:

What is Ekman’s Basic Emotion Theory?

Answer 24

It suggests emotions are adaptive, universal traits rooted in human brain structure, shaped by evolutionary processes (facial affect program).

Culture mediates emotional elicitors
( determining which emotions are appropriate to display in public), linking nature and nurture 9known as the neo-cultural theory).

Question 25

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION: What evidence supports the universality of emotions?

Answer 25

Studies in both literate and pre-literate cultures show above-chance categorization of emotions, though results vary. Duchenne’s research using electric signals on facial muscles ( fake smiles) supports the facial affect program, which is the evolutionary advantage that emotional displays on faces serves

Question 26

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION: What critiques exist for Ekman’s Basic Emotion Theory?

Answer 26

Forced choice labeling in studies. Priming effects and ignoring social context. Lack of exclusive relationships between specific emotions and facial movements

Question 27

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION: What is Fridlund’s Behavioral Ecology Theory?

Answer 27

Facial expressions serve social functions, with signals being useful primarily when observed by others, shaped by evolutionary pressures.

Question 28

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION: What are critiques of the Behavioral Ecology Theory?

Answer 28

Explaining expressions made alone (Fridlund suggests we imagine others). Unclear role of reflexes in expressions. Uncertainty about unconscious facial expressions.

Question 29

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION: How does a data-driven perspective challenge the universality of emotions?

Answer 29

Studies like Jack et al. (2013) show nuanced emotional expressions in East Asian populations compared to more categorical interpretations in Western populations.

Question 30

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTION: What are the critiques of using data-driven approaches for universality?

Answer 30

They highlight cultural biases, such as Western over-categorization of emotions.

Question 31

SELF VS. OTHER PROCESSES: What are self-other control processes, and why are they important?

Answer 31

These processes help manage social interactions like mirroring, empathy, controlling imitation, and separating self-other experiences.

Question 32

SELF VS. OTHER PROCESSES: What is self-bias, and why does it occur?

Answer 32

Self-bias refers to processing information in an egocentric way, likely due to evolutionary advantages and the closeness of our own emotions and experiences.

Question 33

SELF VS. OTHER PROCESSES: What does simulation theory propose?

Answer 33

Simulation theory suggests we empathize by mentally simulating others' behaviors, essentially "walking in their shoes."

Question 34

SELF VS. OTHER PROCESSES: What are mirror neurons, and why are they significant?

Answer 34

Mirror neurons are specific neurons that activate when performing a behavior and when observing someone else perform the same behavior, supporting simulation theory.

Question 35

SELF VS. OTHER PROCESSES: Is there debate surrounding mirror neurons?

Answer 35

Yes, there is ongoing debate about whether mirror neurons are domain-specific (limited to particular actions) or domain-general (apply broadly).

Question 36

SELF VS. OTHER PROCESSES: What are the three facets of empathy?

Answer 36

Cognitive: Understanding another person's perspective. Affective: Sharing and feeling another's emotions. Motivational: Desire to help or act in response to others' emotions.

Question 37

SELF VS. OTHER PROCESSES: What is the debate surrounding empathy?

Answer 37

A: There is disagreement over whether people can fully empathize with how others are feeling, as emotional experiences may be subjective.