Chapter 11: Social Cognition

Question 1

savant syndrome

Answer 1

a rare clinical condition characterized by extraordinary talent in a particular ability, such as art or math, often in the face of general physical or mental disability.

Question 2

self

Answer 2

the subjective sense of existing as an individual

Question 3

self-reflexive thought

Answer 3

the ability to consider one’s own being as an object of thought.

Question 4

fugue state

Answer 4

transient states of confusion in which self-relevant knowledge is temporarily unavailable to consciousness.

Question 5

dissociative identity disorder

Answer 5

a clinical condition characterized by at least two distinct and relatively enduring personalities that alternately control a person’s behavior.

Question 6

default mode

Answer 6

brain processes that occur in the absence of active executive control; a pattern of brain activation reflecting a set of cognitive processes that are typically more engaged during passive experience.

Question 7

interoception

Answer 7

the sense of the internal state of the organism

Question 8

embodiment

Answer 8

a sense of physical location of the self with one’s own body

Question 9

temporoparietal junction

Answer 9

a region of the neocortex that includes that posterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus and the angular gyrus of the parietal lobe

Question 10

fusiform face area

Answer 10

a region of the fusiform gyrus that shows enhances responses to faces relative to other objects

Question 11

social referencing

Answer 11

the use of emotions expressed by another individual to guide one’s own behavior

Question 12

joint attention

Answer 12

the sharing of a common focus of attention across at least two individuals

Question 13

error-related negativity (ERN)

Answer 13

an electrophysical marker that occurs when participants make errors in cognitive tasks

Question 14

mentalizing

Answer 14

also called theory of mind. the ability to represent the internal mental states of other individuals

Question 15

intentional stance

Answer 15

the assumption that others are agents motivated to behave in a way that is consistent with their current mental state

Question 16

mirror neurons

Answer 16

a neuron in the frontal or parietal cortex that shows similar electrophysiological responses to actions executed by oneself or to observation of the same actions being executed by another.

Question 17

perspective taking

Answer 17

the ability to adopt the viewpoint of another individual

Question 18

empathy

Answer 18

the ability to share the same feelings expressed by another individual

Question 19

sympathy

Answer 19

having feelings of pity or concern for another individual’s plight without experiencing the same feelings expressed by that individual

Question 20

power motivation

Answer 20

an enduring preference for having impact on other people or the world at large