scholarly journals The people around you are inside your head: Social context shapes spontaneous thought

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith N. Mildner ◽  
Diana Tamir
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Social Thought ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Spontaneous Thought ◽  
Context Shapes

The majority of people’s spontaneous thoughts are about other people. We propose that thisoutsize focus on other people reflects the rich social world in which people are embedded. To test how social context shapes spontaneous thought, we assessed the content of spontaneous thought during mind wandering in three social contexts – solitude (Study 1), social presence (Study 2), and social interaction (Study 3). Additionally, in Study 1, we used functional neuroimaging to measure neural activity while participants considered social and non-social targets. Solitude decreased spontaneous social thought and decreased neural activity in the mentalizing network when thinking about a close friend. Social presence did not change spontaneous social thought. Social interaction increased spontaneous social thought. Together, the results show a clear pattern of increasing social thought in increasingly social environments. These findings suggest that spontaneous social thought may be a mechanism that helps us process our social environment.

scholarly journals When encodong yields remembering: insights from event-related neuroimaging

1999 ◽  
Vol 354 (1387) ◽  
pp. 1307-1324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony D. Wagner ◽  
Wilma Koutstaal ◽  
Daniel L. Schacter
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Memory Encoding ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Dm Effect ◽  
The Brain

To understand human memory, it is important to determine why some experiences are remembered whereas others are forgotten. Until recently, insights into the neural bases of human memory encoding, the processes by which information is transformed into an enduring memory trace, have primarily been derived from neuropsychological studies of humans with select brain lesions. The advent of functional neuroimaging methods, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), has provided a new opportunity to gain additional understanding of how the brain supports memory formation. Importantly, the recent development of event–related fMRI methods now allows for examination of trial–by–trial differences in neural activity during encoding and of the consequences of these differences for later remembering. In this review, we consider the contributions of PET and fMRI studies to the understanding of memory encoding, placing a particular emphasis on recent event–related fMRI studies of the Dm effect: that is, differences in neural activity during encoding that are related to differences in subsequent memory. We then turn our attention to the rich literature on the Dm effect that has emerged from studies using event–related potentials (ERPs). It is hoped that the integration of findings from ERP studies, which offer higher temporal resolution, with those from event–related fMRI studies, which offer higher spatial resolution, will shed new light on when and why encoding yields subsequent remembering.

scholarly journals Pain relief provided by an outgroup member enhances analgesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1887) ◽  
pp. 20180501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grit Hein ◽  
Jan B. Engelmann ◽  
Philippe N. Tobler
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Pain Relief ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Pain Modulation ◽  
Pain Processing ◽  
Neural Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pain Responses

Pain feels different in different social contexts, yet the mechanisms behind social pain modulation remain poorly understood. To elucidate the impact of social context on pain processing, we investigated how group membership, one of the most important social context factors, shapes pain relief behaviourally and neurally in humans undergoing functional neuroimaging. Participants repeatedly received pain relief from a member of their own group (ingroup treatment) or a member of a disliked outgroup (outgroup treatment). We observed a decrease in pain ratings and anterior insula (AI) pain responses after outgroup treatment, but not after ingroup treatment. Moreover, path analyses revealed that the outgroup treatment induced a stronger relief learning in the AI, which in turn altered pain processing, in particular if the participant entered the treatment with a negative impression toward the outgroup individual. The finding of enhanced analgesia after outgroup treatment is relevant for intergroup clinical settings. More generally, we found that group membership affects pain responses through neural learning and we thus elucidate one possible mechanism through which social context impacts pain processing.

scholarly journals Differential neural activity patterns mediate learning across contexts in a social cichlid fish

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Rodriguez-Santiago ◽  
Alex L Jordan ◽  
Hans A Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Early Gene ◽  
The Social

Learning and decision-making are greatly influenced by the social context surrounding individuals. When navigating a complex social world, individuals must quickly ascertain where to gain important resources and which group members are useful sources of such information. Such dynamic behavioral processes require neural mechanisms that are flexible across contexts. Here we examined how the social context influences the learning response during a visual cue discrimination task and the neural activity patterns that underlie acquisition of this novel information. Using the cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, we show that learning of the task is faster in social groups than in a non-social context. We quantified the expression of Fos, an immediate-early gene, across candidate brain regions known to play a role in social behavior and learning, such as the putative teleost homologues of the mammalian hippocampus, basolateral amygdala, and medial amygdala/BNST complex. We found that neural activity patterns differ between social and non-social contexts. Our results suggest that while the same brain regions may be involved in the learning of a discrimination task independent of social context, activity in each region encodes specific aspects of the task based on context.

The Case Against Theory of Mind

2020 ◽  
pp. 69-97
Author(s):  
Shaun Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Theory Theory ◽  
Embodied Interaction ◽  
Cover Up ◽  
Contemporary Standard

Considerations in the previous chapters led to an acknowledgment of the important role played by social context and intersubjective relations for understanding action. In this and subsequent chapters I explore in more detail, not only how action is related to social interaction, but also the nature of social interaction itself. In this chapter I start with the critical task of showing how contemporary standard approaches to questions about social cognition and theory of mind go wrong and fail to explain how we understand others, and more generally how they cover up the importance of embodied interaction in social contexts. Here I discuss the standard approaches of theory theory and simulation theory, as well as hybrid versions of these theories. I outline eight objections to these theories.

scholarly journals ISIEA: An image database of social inclusion and exclusion in young Asian adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zixin Zheng ◽  
Sijin Li ◽  
Licheng Mo ◽  
Weimao Chen ◽  
Dandan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Image Database ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Need To Belong ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Physical And Mental Health

AbstractHuman beings have a fundamental need to belong. Evaluating and dealing with social exclusion and social inclusion events, which represent negative and positive social interactions, respectively, are closely linked to our physical and mental health. In addition to traditional paradigms that simulate scenarios of social interaction, images are utilized as effective visual stimuli for research on socio-emotional processing and regulation. Since the current mainstream emotional image database lacks social stimuli based on a specific social context, we introduced an open-access image database of social inclusion/exclusion in young Asian adults (ISIEA). This database contains a set of 164 images depicting social interaction scenarios under three categories of social contexts (social exclusion, social neutral, and social inclusion). All images were normatively rated on valence, arousal, inclusion score, and vicarious feeling by 150 participants in Study 1. We additionally examined the relationships between image ratings and the potential factors influencing ratings. The importance of facial expression and social context in the image rating of ISIEA was examined in Study 2. We believe that this database allows researchers to select appropriate materials for socially related studies and to flexibly conduct experimental control.

scholarly journals Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick A. R. Jones ◽  
Helen C. Spence-Jones ◽  
Mike Webster ◽  
Luke Rendell
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Behavioural Phenotype ◽  
Social Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Learning can enable rapid behavioural responses to changing conditions but can depend on the social context and behavioural phenotype of the individual. Learning rates have been linked to consistent individual differences in behavioural traits, especially in situations which require engaging with novelty, but the social environment can also play an important role. The presence of others can modulate the effects of individual behavioural traits and afford access to social information that can reduce the need for ‘risky’ asocial learning. Most studies of social effects on learning are focused on more social species; however, such factors can be important even for less-social animals, including non-grouping or facultatively social species which may still derive benefit from social conditions. Using archerfish, Toxotes chatareus, which exhibit high levels of intra-specific competition and do not show a strong preference for grouping, we explored the effect of social contexts on learning. Individually housed fish were assayed in an ‘open-field’ test and then trained to criterion in a task where fish learnt to shoot a novel cue for a food reward—with a conspecific neighbour visible either during training, outside of training or never (full, partial or no visible presence). Time to learn to shoot the novel cue differed across individuals but not across social context. This suggests that social context does not have a strong effect on learning in this non-obligatory social species; instead, it further highlights the importance that inter-individual variation in behavioural traits can have on learning. Significance statement Some individuals learn faster than others. Many factors can affect an animal’s learning rate—for example, its behavioural phenotype may make it more or less likely to engage with novel objects. The social environment can play a big role too—affecting learning directly and modifying the effects of an individual’s traits. Effects of social context on learning mostly come from highly social species, but recent research has focused on less-social animals. Archerfish display high intra-specific competition, and our study suggests that social context has no strong effect on their learning to shoot novel objects for rewards. Our results may have some relevance for social enrichment and welfare of this increasingly studied species, suggesting there are no negative effects of short- to medium-term isolation of this species—at least with regards to behavioural performance and learning tasks.

Mastery Of Sociolinguistic Concepts Of Pragmatic Skills By Junior High School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-26
Author(s):  
Yossi Pratiwi ◽  
Sridelli Dakhi
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Junior High School Students ◽  
Pragmatic Language ◽  
School Students ◽  
Research Hypothesis ◽  
Pragmatic Skills

Abstract.  Skilled in pragmatic language, means skilled in using language forms ( words, phrases and clauses appropriately according to the conditions, situations and social contexts behind it. Such pragmatic skills may be established if the situation, conditions and social context behind the use of the language can be adequately mastered. This study aims to describe the percentage of contributions to the mastery of sociolinguistic concepts with pragmatic skills. In line with the purpose of the study, sociolinguistic mastery data with pragmatic skills of 28 sample people netted with test instruments and analyzed with statistics r¬2.From the results of the analysis conducted, obtained a determination index of 0.78 which means; mastery of sociolinguistic concepts contributes 78% to the achievement of students' pragmatic skills. In accordance with the results of the above analysis, it can be concluded that mastery of sociolinguistic concepts is a variable of criteria that contributes very meaningfully to the improvement of pragmatic skills. Thus, the research hypothesis yaang said that the mastery of the concept of sociolinguistics contributes meaningfully to the development of pragmatic skills of students of SMP Negeri 1 Nias Selatan, the truth is proven

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