L12: Social Cognition

A learning module on social cognition for PSYC 2040.

Goals

• Introduce research on the “cognitive” underpinnings of social behavior
• Connect ideas to discussions of memory, language, and cognitive modeling

Instructions

Work through each of the following sections: Read, View/Watch/listen, and Engage. You have the full week to complete any quizzes or assignments for this module.

Read

This review article is available on Canvas under Modules > L11. There will be quiz questions about this paper and any additional content covered in class.

• Gweon, H. (2021). Inferential social learning: Cognitive foundations of human social learning and teaching. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 25(10), 896-910. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2021.07.008

View/Watch/Listen

There are two sets of slides for this module.

Lecture 1

L12: Slides 1

Lecture 2

L12: Slides 2

Review

Review Slides

Engage

When you are ready complete any or all of the following assignments.

1. QUIZ: Complete the L12: Social Cognition quiz (on Canvas)
2. WRITING: There are reading/writing assignments to choose from (instructions below, submit on Canvas).
3. REFLECT: Submit a meme for the Memer of the Semester contest on Canvas (1 extra credit point for winner at the end of the semester)

Submit your work before the due date posted on Canvas. Then, move on to the next learning module.

Writing Option 1: Reflect on a DeepMind podcast

This assignment explores the world of cooperative artificial intelligence via a podcast. Your task is to listen to the DeepMind podcast, Better Together and reflect on what you learned from the podcast. In your reflection, you must discuss 3 things you learned that you did not know and whether that has changed your view of social behavior in humans vs. machines. You should write a minimum of 250 words, but feel free to write more. Submit your document on Canvas by the due date.

Writing Option 2: Reflect on a Trust Game

We have spent a lot of time in this course thinking about the how behind different instances of cognition. This assignment encourages you to think about the why behind cooperative behavior. Your task is to play the Trust Game and reflect on the big takeaways from the game through the following questions:

1. Were you surprised by the outcomes of the simulations?
2. Do you think the game captures cooperative situations in the real world? Why and why not?
3. Do you think there are situations where cooperation may not be the best strategy? Why and why not?

You should write a minimum of 250 words, but feel free to write more. Submit your document on Canvas by the due date.

Writing Option 3: Answer two short-answer questions

Answer the following questions:

• Describe an experiment that showed that children can evaluate the informativeness of a teacher and adjust their behavior accordingly. Your description should include the following details: independent variable(s), dependent variable(s), key finding(s), and inference(s) .

• Describe an experiment that showed that children engage in overimitation. Your description should include the following details: independent variable(s), dependent variable(s), key finding(s), and inference(s) .