Browsing by Subject "Social cognition"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A computational modeling approach to understanding the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying directional reasoning about ambiguous events(2016-05) Flagan, Taru Maria; Beer, Jennifer S., 1974-; Eastwick, Paul W; Gosling, Samuel D; Schnyer, David MPeople often view the ambiguities of their social world through a subjective, rather than objective lens. For example, people may construe ambiguous social events in ways that are consistent with their current moods or with the goals they wish to achieve (e.g., Blanchette & Richards, 2010; Pauker, Rule, & Ambady, 2010). Although both mood and motivation direct reasoning about ambiguity, little is known about whether similar mechanisms account for the effects of mood or motivation. Furthermore, similar neural profiles have been associated with mood-congruent ambiguity resolution and motivated reasoning (e.g., Bhanji & Beer, 2012; Hughes & Beer, 2013), but the extent to which these regions support the same underlying processes has not been explored. A deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms has been difficult to assess because previous research has utilized self-report and reaction time measures to explore the effects of mood and motivation on ambiguity (e.g., Butler & Mathews, 1983; Ditto et al., 1998). People have little introspective access to the cognitive processes that lead to their decisions (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977), and reaction time analyses cannot disentangle underlying mechanisms. Therefore a deeper understanding requires alternative approaches. Drift-diffusion modeling (DDM) makes it possible to independently estimate parameters related to two mechanisms theorized to be involved ambiguity construal: expectations and preferential evidence accumulation. This dissertation describes five studies that utilize DDM to examine two overarching research questions: (I) What role do expectations and preferential evidence accumulation play in the influence of mood and motivation on the construal of ambiguity (Studies 1a, 1b, 3, 4) and (II) Are these processes supported by neural regions known to be involved in the effects of mood and motivation on the construal of ambiguity (Studies 2, 4)? The findings support a predicted role for expectations in mood-congruent and motivated construals of ambiguity. In addition, VMPFC supported motivated expectations that contribute to ambiguity construal. The role of preferential evidence accumulation, on the other hand, was less robust. Findings contribute to our understanding of mood-congruent and motivated reasoning about ambiguity and suggest fruitful approaches for future work exploring directed reasoning about ambiguous events.Item Ritual increases children's preferences for in-group members(2015-05) Wen, Nicole Jee; Legare, Cristine H.; Markman, Art BThis study examined the impact of ritual on children's in-group affiliation (N = 71, 4-11-year-old children). A novel social group paradigm was used in an afterschool program setting to test the influence of a ritual versus a control task on three key outcomes--affiliation with in-group members, expectations for inclusion by in-group members, and selective group fusion with in-group members. Results from converging measures support the hypothesis that the experience of participating in a ritual increases in-group preference to a greater degree than group activity alone. The results provide insight into the early-developing preference for in-group members and are consistent with the proposal that rituals facilitate in-group cohesion.Item Social functioning, social cognition, and executive functioning differences associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder subtypes(2012-08) Kerne, Valerie Van Horn; Nussbaum, Nancy; Sherry, Alissa René; McCarthy, Christopher J.; Keith, Timothy Z.; Bunner, Melissa R.ADHD is a well researched disorder in children and is associated with impairments in social functioning (Barkley, 2006). However, little is known about the etiology of social difficulties. An emerging body of literature is beginning to address the possible role social cognition may share in the social functioning outcomes in children with ADHD (Buitelaar et al., 1999; Corbett & Glidden, 2000; DaFonseca et al., 2009; Rapport et al., 2002; Sibley et al., 2010; Yuill & Lyon, 2007). Yet, research focusing on social cognition deficits in ADHD that accounts for subtype differences is limited. Some studies evaluated social cognition in CT children only (Corbett & Glidden, 2000; DaFonseca et al., 2009; Rapport et al., 2002) while other research utilized behavior ratings or sociometric studies (Matthys et al., 1999; Zentall et al., 2001). Another body of literature has examined the impact executive functioning deficits may have on social functioning (Barkley, 1997; Charman et al., 2001; Chhabildas et al., 2001). The purpose of the current study was to identify factors that predict social functioning impairments in children with ADHD as well as differentiate between ADHD subtypes. Participants included 89 youth with ages ranging from 6 to 16 years (M = 10.19, SD = 2.76). Forty-nine children met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Subtype (PI) and 40 for ADHD, Combined Type (CT). Results indicated CT youth demonstrated more aggressive and rule-breaking behavior than PI youth. Measures of social cognition did not predict ADHD subtype, and when compared to a normative sample, participants performed in the average range on affect recognition and theory of mind tasks. Performance-based measures of executive functioning largely associated with inattention (i.e., vigilance, processing speed, and working memory) best predicted subtype differences with CT youth being more impaired. Executive functioning, not social cognition, was predictive of social maladjustment in CT and PI youth. For CT youth, deficits in emotion control, shift, and initiate were related to anxiety, aggressive behavior, and depressed mood. Similarly, emotion control and shift were predictors of aggressive behavior, anxiety, and depressed mood in PI youth with deficits in self-monitoring, initiate, and inhibit as secondary predictors.Item Using the neural level of analysis to understand the computational underpinnings of positivity biases in self-evaluation(2012-05) Hughes, Brent Laurence, 1981-; Beer, Jennifer S., 1974-; Gosling, Samuel D.; Neff, Lisa A.; Preston, Alison A.; Swann, Jr., William B.Decades of research have demonstrated that people sometimes provide self-evaluations that emphasize their most flattering qualities. Different theoretical accounts have been offered to explain the mechanisms underlying positively-biased self-evaluation. Some researchers theorize that positively-biased self-evaluations arise from a self-protection motivation because positivity biases increase in situations of heightened self-esteem threat. Alternative views question whether self-protection motivation is a necessary or even dominant source of positivity bias by demonstrating that positively-biased self-evaluations occur even when threat is not heightened, and that a general judgment approach leads to positivity biases in some domains but also to negativity biases in other domains. One reason for this gap in knowledge is that behavioral measures are limited in their ability to resolve whether the processes underlying positively-biased self-evaluation are the same or different depending on contextual motivators. Neuroimaging methods are well suited to examine whether different mechanisms underlie similar behaviors, specifically similar positively-biased responses in different contexts. The four studies presented here explore the neural mechanisms of positively-biased self-evaluation by first identifying a core set of neural regions associated with positivity bias (Study 1A and 1sB), examining whether a heightened self-protection motivation changes the engagement of those neural systems (Study 2), and specifying the precise mechanisms supported by those regions (Study 3). Studies 1A and 1B revealed evidence for a neural system comprised of medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and, to a lesser extent dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) that was modulated by positivity bias. Study 2 found that a heightened self-protection motivation changes the engagement of medial OFC in positively-biased self-evaluation. Finally, Study 3 found evidence that medial OFC may support a common mechanism in positively-biased judgment that is implemented differently as a function of the motivational context. Taken together, these studies represent a first step toward developing a neural model of positively-biased self-evaluation. The findings provide some preliminary evidence that positivity biases may represent distinct processes in different motivational contexts. This dissertation sets the stage for future work to examine how specific positively-biased cognitive mechanisms may be supported by specific neural systems and computations as a function of motivational contexts.