Social Cognition: Key Concepts in Social Brain and Behavior

What are the primary social motives that shape our behavior?

Belonging, Understanding, Control, Need to Matter, Trust

What does the social motive of belonging refer to?

The desire for stable, meaningful connections with others.

How does social exclusion affect individuals?

It makes them feel less human and hypersensitive to future rejection.

What is the impact of social exclusion on behavior according to Baumeister & Tice (2017)?

Isolated individuals perform worse on tests, eat more junk food, and behave more aggressively.

What does the social motive of understanding entail?

The feeling that we can predict future events and make sense of past occurrences.

What was the finding of Berker et al. (2016) regarding predictable vs. unpredictable shocks?

Participants who received predictable shocks reported much less stress than those with unpredictable shocks.

What does the social motive of control signify?

The feeling of being autonomous and competent enough to direct our own actions.

What did Langer & Rodin (1976) find about nursing home residents and control?

Residents given more control over their living situation lived longer than those who weren't.

What are the three components of the need to matter?

Attention, Importance, and Reliance.

How does the need to matter motivate self-improvement?

Feeling valued encourages personal growth and achievement.

What is the social motive of trust?

The desire to believe that the world is safe, benevolent, and fair.

How can broken trust affect individuals?

It can disorient them and engage other social motives to restore their belief in safety.

What is the Social Brain Hypothesis?

It posits a positive relationship between social group size and the size of a primate's neocortex.

What functions does the neocortex support in relation to social groups?

It supports language, self-awareness, and self-control.

What is the typical size of meaningful social groups according to the Social Brain Hypothesis?

Approximately 150 people.

What is automatic social thinking?

The brain's inherent wiring for social interaction, including seeing faces and ascribing intent.

What is the Heider and Simmel Task?

An experiment demonstrating how people ascribe human intent and meaning to objects.

What is the default mode network's role in social cognition?

It is active when we think about other people.

What is co-representation in social cognition?

The ability to understand others' perspectives and share experiences.

What is the We-mode in social cognition?

A state of collective consciousness where individuals think and act as part of a group.

What is social identity theory?

A theory that explains how individuals derive part of their identity from their group memberships.

What is own-race bias?

The tendency to recognize faces of one's own race more accurately than those of other races.

What is ingroup bias?

The tendency to favor one's own group over others.

How does social pain relate to social cognition?

Social pain is processed similarly to physical pain, affecting emotional well-being.

What are affordances of a social brain?

Capabilities that enable individuals to navigate and thrive in social environments.

What is the significance of social motives in extreme behavior?

They can explain behaviors such as cult participation by addressing underlying social needs.

What is the theory of mind?

The capacity to attribute mental states—such as beliefs, desires, and intentions—to oneself and to others.

At what age does theory of mind typically develop?

Around four years of age.

What test is used to assess theory of mind in children?

The Sally-Anne test (Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1985).

What is co-representation in the context of theory of mind?

The process where individuals automatically form internal representations of their partners' actions.

What is the significance of co-representation in social interactions?

It enables coordination, predictions about behavior, and facilitates successful collaboration.

What research study is associated with joint action and co-representation?

Sebanz, Knoblich, & Prinz (2003): Joint Simon task.

What is the 'we-mode' in social cognition?

A mental state where interacting people share their minds by representing their contributions to joint action as a collective 'we'.

How does the 'we-mode' affect understanding of partners' behavior?

It affords a broader understanding of their partners' behavior and the options available for action.

What is the GROOP effect?

A phenomenon where reaction times are faster when participants see two left hands performing a task, indicating group representation.

What is transactive memory?

A concept studied by Wegner (1987) that examines the benefits of existing we-modes in collaborative settings.

What does social identity theory explain?

It explains how our group memberships shape our sense of belonging, self-worth, and perceptions of others.

What did Tajfel et al. (1971) discover about minimal groups?

People prefer their group regardless of how meaningful the group is.

What did Hastorf & Cantril (1954) find regarding perceptions of a sports game?

Students perceived nearly twice as many violations from their opponent compared to their own team.

How can ingroup bias be overcome?

Yudkin et al. (2016) found that with time and motivation, individuals can apply reason to overcome ingroup decision-making.

What is the relationship between brain size and social networks?

The size of the neocortex reflects the size of our social networks, indicating our brains have evolved to think socially.

What is the default mode of human cognition regarding social interactions?

Our brains default to thinking about other people and making accurate inferences about their thoughts and feelings.

What is the significance of the 'us' vs. 'them' mentality?

It reflects how we categorize others and can lead to biases and social division.

What is attribution theory?

The desire to attribute someone's behavior to a dispositional or situational cause.

What are the two types of explanatory styles for attributions?

Situational and dispositional explanations.

How does self-fulfilling prophecy work?

When we act on our initial behavioral attribution of ourselves in a way that confirms the attribution.

What did Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) demonstrate?

Children labeled as 'growth spurters' by teachers received better grades, despite being chosen at random.

What is actor-observer bias?

The tendency to make dispositional attributions about others but situational attributions about oneself.

What is self-serving bias?

An explanatory style shaped by whether the outcome is good or bad, and whether it happens to oneself or others.

What does the contrast effect refer to?

A change in a judgment of quality in contrast to a similar item.

What is social comparison?

The process of evaluating our abilities and attributes by comparing ourselves to others.

How does a growth mindset relate to social comparison?

It reflects a commitment to continuous self-improvement and can influence how we feel about ourselves compared to others.

What is priming in social cognition?

The use of subtle cues to direct thinking and activate schemas.

What is the primacy effect?

The phenomenon where early information has more influence than later information.

What did Asch (1946) find regarding the primacy effect?

Participants rated 'Steve' more favorably when they received positive traits first.

What is autobiographical memory?

The construction of memories to fit the image we have of ourselves.

What is reconstructive memory?

The idea that our memories are influenced more by present thoughts than by past events.

What is affective forecasting?

The struggle to predict how we will feel in the future.

What factors contribute to our inaccuracies in affective forecasting?

Underestimating our ability to adapt and failing to consider concurrent events.

What did Dunn, Wilson, & Gilbert (2003) study about affective forecasting?

They explored why people are often bad at predicting their future feelings.

What are the three areas where we exhibit biases in social cognition?

Explaining social behavior, recalling the past, and predicting the future.

What is the significance of biases in recalling the past?

We tend to recall memories that confirm our current self-image.

How do biases affect our predictions about the future?

We focus more on desirability than feasibility when making decisions.

What is the relationship between explanatory style and well-being?

The dominant explanatory style can affect a person's sense of control and overall well-being.

What is the bias blind spot?

The tendency to recognize biases in others while failing to see them in oneself.

How can coaches influence their players' performance according to Aronson & Jones (1992)?

By focusing on improving ability rather than just scores.

What role do contextual factors play in social judgments?

They influence how we perceive and think about people or events.

What is the impact of biases on mental time travel?

We make mistakes when thinking about past or future events due to biases.

What is the effect of social context on judgment?

All judgment is relative and influenced by the surrounding social context.