Ch 11: What are the working mechanisms of emotion and social cognition

Question 1

Amygdala

Answer 1

Fear

Question 2

Cingulate cortes

Answer 2

Sadness + anger

Question 3

insula

Answer 3

disgust

Question 4

basal ganglia

Answer 4

happiness

Question 5

LeDoux’s two route model: threatening information

Answer 5

1. fast route: global info is sent directly from the thalamus to the amygdala
2. slow route: global info in thalamus –> frontal cortex (specifying info) –> amygdala
   frontal cortex is strongly connected to hippocampus –> learning
   Amygdala also strong connection to hippocampus –> remembering emotional events better

Question 6

Damasio’s somatic marker theory

Answer 6

physical reaction in a complex and unclear situation lead to a gut feeling (intuition) –> decision

Question 7

Mentalising

Answer 7

the ability to put ourselves in other peoples shoes

Question 8

The mirror system

Answer 8

internal simulation can help us to understand other people better
a system with a shared representation for perception and action
probably the underlying mechanism for empathy

Question 9

Theory of Mind (ToM)

Answer 9

the person forms a hypothesis about the thoughts of others by taking their perspective

Question 10

ToM: first order belief

Answer 10

suus thinks that her mother is going to pick her up from school
develops around 3 years old and turn into being able to think about something

Question 11

ToM: second order belief

Answer 11

Mark thinks that the teacher thinks that he hasn’t made his homework
develops around 6 and turns into thinking about thinking

Question 12

Social faux pas

Answer 12

someone else’s unintended social misstep must be recognised as such and the perpetrator must be recognised to not intend to hurt someone else
recognition develops around 8 years old

Question 13

The SOCIAL model: socio-cognitive integration of abilities

Answer 13

states that social skills are mediated by a neural network that is susceptible to environmental factors

• internal & external factors
• emotion processes and cognitive processes
• social competence

Question 14

Social cognition: amygdala

Answer 14

automatic screening of info for social and affective relevance –> threats from environment
forming and strong memories with emotional content

Question 15

Social cognition: superior temporal sulcus

Answer 15

interpretation of socially relevant movement information

Question 16

Social cognition: fusiform gyrus

Answer 16

process faces in detail: affective info + static features for identification

Question 17

Social cognition: insula

Answer 17

anterior: records and organises internal physiological changes when affective info is perceived and understood

Question 18

Social cognition: striatum

Answer 18

ventral: predicts which reactions will lead to positive consequences (regulated by dopamine)

Question 19

Social cognition: cortical mirror systems

Answer 19

involved in mirroring the experiences of others in order to be able to imagine the experience of others

Question 20

Social cognition: prefrontal cortex

Answer 20

updating affective values
learning the associations between reactions and the affective consequences
integrating complex information

Question 21

Social cognition: cingulate gyrus

Answer 21

conflict monitoring
reinforcement processes
error detection
==> response selection, decision making behavior