Social Cognition Flashcards
What is social cognition
the study of cognitive processes involved in social interactions between animals
What three contexts is social cognition relevant in
Communication (e.g. alarm calls & other vocalizations, gestures, etc, that provide others with information about oneself or the environment)
Predicting or manipulating others’ behavior (e.g. cooperation, alliance formation, conflict avoidance, deception & counter-deception)
Self-knowledge (e.g. self-recognition, self-awareness)
Describe the Hamadryas Baboons’ sneaky grooming session
Female is grooming a subordinate male behind a rock. Nearby dominant make believes there is nothing behind the rock
What are two potential thought processes of the female in the Hamadryas Baboons’ sneaky grooming session and what do these demonstrate
“The dominant can’t see the subordinate, so he doesn’t know I’m grooming him.” (reasoning about mental states)
OR
“Previously when there was a rock between the dominant and subordinate, I could groom the subordinate safely.” (Associative learning)
What are the four aspects of Daniel Dennett;s Orders of Inentionality?
Zero-order
First-order
Second-order
Third-order
What is the Zero-order of Daniel Dennett’s Orders of Intentionality?
individual does not have intentions (behavior is reflexive)
Give an example of the Zero-order of Daniel Dennett’s Orders of Intentionality?
eye-blink in response to puff of air
What is the First-order of Daniel Dennett’s Orders of Intentionality?
Individuals have mental states such as beliefs, desires, intentions
Give an example of the First-order of Daniel Dennett’s Orders of Intentionality?
“I want X”
What is the Second-order of Daniel Dennett’s Orders of Intentionality?
Ability to reason about others’ mental states
Give an example of the Second-order of Daniel Dennett’s Orders of Intentionality?
“I know that you want X”
What is the Third-order of Daniel Dennett’s Orders of Intentionality?
Ability to reason about others’ reasoning about your (or others’) mental states
Give an example of the Third-order of Daniel Dennett’s Orders of Intentionality?
“I know that you know that I want X”
What theory do second-order and third-order of intentionality contribute to
Theory of Mind (Premack and Woodruff, 1978)
Describe Deception by Nesting Plovers in terms of Zero, First, and Second Order intentionalities
Zero-order: the behavior is automatically triggered by the predator
First-order: the plover intends to lead the predator away
Second-order: the plover intends the predator to believe that she is injured
Describe the results of field experiments performed by Ristau on Nesting Plovers
In 87% of human approaches, plover moved so as to lead the intruder away from the nest à plovers are responsive
Dangerous intruders caused more arousal than non-threatening ones à plovers are discriminating
Plovers intensified their displays or re-approached intruder if the intruder stopped following à plovers are flexible
Is the evidence sufficient to argue that plovers have theory of mind?
Would imply that any non-intentional system must be rigid and inflexible (not necessarily true)
Maybe plovers have an innate anti-predator response, made more flexible by learning à in that case, no ToM required
We shouldn’t assume Theory of Mind where simpler explanations are possible.
What are the three types of deception
Functional deception
Tactical deception
Intentional deception