Event overview
Lecture by: Dr. Ian Apperly, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham
Title: "Two systems" for theory of mind: Evidence for automatic and non-automatic processes
Abstract:
Theory of mind appears to make contradictory cognitive demands. It needs to be fast enough to sustain on-line social interaction yet flexible enough to allow mental states to be ascribed to any individual with any kind of content. I suggest that this contradiction can be resolved by supposing that two kinds of system are involved in theory of mind: Systems that are fast and efficient but inflexible; and systems that are flexible but slower and more demanding of memory and cognitive control. I will present behavioural evidence from adults to support this distinction. One set of studies provides evidence that explicit belief ascription is non-automatic, and is subject to strategic control. Another set provides evidence that adults automatically compute what another person sees, and that this is resistant to strategic control. I suggest that human adults may share some of these automatic processes with human infants and non-human animals, but that the flexible non-automatic systems may be late-developing and uniquely human.
Dates & times
Date | Time | Add to calendar |
---|---|---|
13 Nov 2008 | 4:00pm - 5:30pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.