Topic 14: The Social Animal

Question 1

What is Dunbar’s social brain hypothesis?

Answer 1

More social information leads to larger capacity in specific brain areas.
Dunbar focused on the neocortex
If we quantify social information, we can see if the amount of social information is associated with neocortex size across species.

Question 2

What does it mean to say our minds are specialised for sociality?

Answer 2

• we form long term bonds
• remember details of hundreds of individuals
• learn quickly from others
• cooperate with strangers over extended periods

Question 3

Why are humans so social?

Answer 3

Offers evolutionary advantages such as:
- avoiding predation
- coordinating defence against threats
- hunting, gathering, child rearing in groups
- passing on knowledge

Question 4

What are the problems with sociality?

Answer 4

• physical proximity to others makes it easier for pathogens to be transmitted
• direct harm through aggression, exploitation
• human groups have status hierarchies - entails power struggles that can be physically risky e.g. wars.

Question 5

How do we quantify social information?

Answer 5

According to Dunbar:
Look at species’ group size - the larger the group, the more social information there is to deal with

Question 6

What is Dunbar’s number?

Answer 6

150
This is his guess of human’s ‘natural’ group size based on neocortex ratio and the cross species trend in the ape lineage.

Question 7

According to Dunbar, what influenced the evolution of the human brain?

Answer 7

Group size

Question 8

How do you find the neocortex ratio?

Answer 8

It is the neocortex volume divided by the volume of the rest of the brain.

Question 9

What is the neocortex ratio between monkeys and apes? - shown on a graph

Answer 9

There is a strong correlation between neocortex ratio and mean group size.
- group size and amount of social information that each species deals with seems to be uniquely predictive of this aspect of brain anatomy

Question 10

What do we need to do to place humans on the monkey/ape graph?

Answer 10

Still need to know the mean group size and neocortex ratio
- but modern humans do not have a set group size. e.g. some live in cities, others small towns.

Question 11

According to Dunbar, since we know the neocortex ratio of humans, how can we then estimate the natural group size?

Answer 11

We have to base it on the cross species trend.
This is there may have been a natural group size that humans had before cultural evolution that made it possible for humans to live in larger and larger groups.
His guess was 150 people. - we can mentally handle 150 people.

Question 12

What are imagined realities?

Answer 12

Only exist because humans made it up.
E.g. money, Bsc degree, brands e.g. Starbucks, nation state e.g. UK.

Question 13

What are examples of how imagined realities can change?

Answer 13

• when a bank issues new notes, old ones become worthless
• national borders can change if people agree to change them
• where exactly in physical space is brand, ‘starbucks’ located?

Question 14

What are examples that imagined realities enable large scale cooperation?

Answer 14

• complete strangers form militaries and fight for the same ‘country’
• employers assume you have certain set of skills based on your ‘degree’ and can hire large numbers of people without getting to know them personally.

Question 15

What factors set humans apart from other animals?

Answer 15

• our social brain
• our ability to create imagined realities

Question 16

What is the social brain hypothesis?

Answer 16

Human mind is specialised for processing social information in particular.

Question 17

What is a key area of social perception?

Answer 17

Emotions/Emotional expressions

Question 18

What are emotional expressions?

Answer 18

Nonverbal communication where people decipher the behaviour.
We communicate emotions especially on the face through expressions.

Question 19

Until the 1970s what was the general belief about emotions and expressions?

Answer 19

Believed that emotions and expressions are culturally constructed.

Question 20

What is Ekman’s belief on emotions?

Answer 20

That humans are endowed with basic emotions and facial expressions.
Therefore, emotions and expressions are universal rather than cultural.
He investigated people in New Guinea to test for this.

Question 21

What are Ekman’s 6 basic emotions?

Answer 21

Anger
Fear
Disgust
Surprise
Joy/Happiness
Sadness
- mapped out their facial expressions

Question 22

What is the general trend/research about identifying emotions?

Answer 22

People can identify emotions expressed by individuals from other cultures.
But, accuracy is higher when the individuals displaying and identifying the expressions are from the same culture.

Question 23

How have Ekman’s views been challenged?

Answer 23

• In real life, how often do we display these expressions?
• The images depict actors holding stereotyped expressions, not spontaneous displays.
• Didn’t take into account movement, rest of body, broader context.

Question 24

What is attribution?

Answer 24

How we intuitively explain behaviours

Question 25

What are the two types of attribution?

Answer 25

• Dispositional (internal) attribution
  This explains behavioural outcomes by referring to stable, dispositional contexts. E.g. he’s not providing good answers in an interview so he must be incompetent.
• Situational (external) attribution
  This explains behavioural outcomes by referring to transient, situational causes. E.g. he’s not providing good answers - but who wouldn’t be nervous in this situation?

Question 26

What has research shown about interpreting attributions?

Answer 26

That we are not very accurate in this.
We typically disregard situational causes and are biased toward making dispositional attributions.

Question 27

What kinds of external factors do we fail to consider that make us typically make dispositional attributions?

Answer 27

• someone acting aggressively because of provocation
• staff in restaurant acting in a friendly manner
• actors portraying characters

Question 28

What is correspondence bias?

Answer 28

• Also known as fundamental attribution error
  Bias towards making dispositional (internal) attributions - i.e. we tend to believe that observable outcome corresponds to underlying disposition.

Question 29

Is correspondence bias a universal tendency?

Answer 29

No.
Bias appears to be stronger among Western people.
East Asians more likely to recognise situational causes - possibly because people’s behaviours are generally more constrained by context and social roles.

Question 30

Why does correspondence bias exist?

Answer 30

Evidence shows that dispositional attribution is more system 1 and situational attribution is more system 2.

Question 31

How may situational attribution be a 2-step process?

Answer 31

1) Dispositional attribution may occur automatically by default
2) Then, given sufficient attentional resources (and motivation) situational attribution may take place. - leading to a correction of the original attribution.

Question 32

How may cultural variation reflect the extent to which the situational correction occurs?

Answer 32

In Western cultures, it makes sense for observers to assume that behaviours reflect underlying dispositions (as people tend to act according to their disposition)

In cultures with stronger situational constraints on behaviour, observers may be more attentive to situational causes.

Question 33

What is a situational mindset to failing an exam?

Answer 33

Opportunity to prepare better (Growth)

Question 34

What is a dispositional mindset to failing an exam?

Answer 34

Nothing you can do about it. (Fixed)

Question 35

What is Dweck’s mindset theory?

Answer 35

Fixed and Growth Mindset

Question 36

How can feedback to children shift their mindset?

Answer 36

• Praising children for their intelligence (clever, gifted, talented) = Fixed mindset
• Praising for effort = growth mindset