Module 12: The Social Mind

Social Cognition: The branch of social psychology that studies how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. It examines how we think about ourselves, others, and social interactions.

Eusociality: A high level of social organization, found in some animal species (like ants, bees, and naked mole rats), characterized by cooperative brood care, overlapping generations within a colony, and a division of labor into reproductive and non-reproductive groups.

Wason Selection Task: A classic logic puzzle used to study reasoning and the confirmation bias. Participants are presented with four cards and a conditional rule and must indicate which cards need to be turned over to determine if the rule is violated.

Social Contract Theory: In evolutionary psychology, the idea that humans have evolved specialized cognitive mechanisms for reasoning about social contracts, particularly for detecting cheaters who violate these agreements.

Cheater Detection Algorithm: A hypothesized cognitive mechanism proposed by evolutionary psychologists to be specifically adapted for detecting individuals who violate social contracts by taking benefits without reciprocating the costs.

Cooperation: Behavior in which two or more individuals work together for mutual benefit. It is a fundamental aspect of social interaction and has been studied extensively in various disciplines.

Direct Reciprocity: A form of cooperation where individuals help others who have previously helped them. The expectation of future reciprocation motivates cooperative behavior.

Indirect Reciprocity: A form of cooperation where individuals help others who have helped other people (based on reputation or observed behavior). Cooperation is driven by the potential for future help from others in the social network.

Theory of Mind (ToM): The ability to attribute mental states (beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, etc.) to oneself and others, and to understand that these mental states can differ from one's own and can predict behavior.

False Belief Task: A classic experimental paradigm used to assess Theory of Mind in children. Children are tested on their understanding that others can hold beliefs that are different from their own, especially when those beliefs are false.

Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis: The theory that the primary driver of the evolution of primate (and especially human) intelligence was the complex social environment, including the need for cooperation, competition, and navigating social relationships.

Distributed Cognition: The idea that cognitive processes are not solely located within an individual's mind but are distributed across individuals, tools, artifacts, and the environment. Cognition is seen as a system involving interactions between these elements.