Social Lecture Flashcards
Born to be Social
Twins have interaction in womb. Newborns prefer to look at faces rather than scrambled. Infants recognize antisocial acts and prefer prosocial adults at 8-mo. 18-mo have complex social ruless at 18 mo. Egalitarianism develops between 3-8 yrs.
Why social?
Danger - predators and starvation
Advantages - protection, increased quality of life, social learning, mate choice, resource sharing, group intel. Social deprivation can have detrimental effects on brain. Social isolation in rats - disruption to limbic system and mPFC
Two key periods of brain expanson
450cc to 10cc from 2 mil to 1.8 mil years ago. Social life/more relationships.
to 1130cc from 600k-200k years ago. Evolution of language?
Dunbar’s Number
Brain size constrains size of social network - memory for relationships and skills needed to manage. The number is suggested cognitive limit to stable social relationships. Between 100-230, commonly, 150.
PFC
Network size and dominance associated with changes in grey matter in prefrontal cortex.
3 theories of large brains
Social intelligence theory - primate cognition for social competition.
Vygotskian Intelligence Theory - communication and learning
Machiavellian Intelligence theory - to outsmart others
Superior temporal sulcus (STS) and fusiform gyrus
Process social stimuli
Medial PFC
Interpersonal norms and scripts, theory of mind
Amygdala
Social emotions and social danger
Posterior cingulate cortex
Self-referential processing, social memory
Right Temporal Pole
Special role in Theory of Mind, social schemas, context, concepts
Temporoparietal junction
Goals, intentions, theory of mind, desires of others.
Mirror neuron
Fires both when an animal acts and when animal observes same action performed by another. Area F5. Helps us to understand and learn from others.
2 networks involved in social behavior and learning
Mirror Nuron Network - How system
Social Brain/mentalizing Network - Why system - intentions (ToM)
Fusiform face area
Activated when seeing faces
Theory of mind
Ability to attribute mental states such a beliefs, intents, desires, to oneself and others and to understand that others have different ones.
Sally-Ann study
Theory of Mind - to guess another person’s intentions. Autistic children had trouble with this.
Simulation theory
Can understand mental states of others on basis of own mental states. More similar I am to you better can simulate your mental state.
Similar vs dissimilar mind
The more similarity perceived, the more activity in ventral PFC. The more you disagree, the more activity in dorsal PFC
Vicarious reward
To simulate others’ internal state successfully, must deem ourselves similar to target person. The more you think you are similar, the more you enjoy/your brain is activated by seeing them win.
Social vs. Monetary Rewards
Dopamine Reward areas common to winning money and social rewards.
Social vs Physical pain
Overlap in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula.
Prosocial behaviors
Behaviors like empathy and altruism reduce likelihood of social rejection and increase social acceptance.
Does brain treat our pain same as another person’s?
Anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex activated by both our own and others’ pain.
