Question 1

Which subform of theory of mind is the most basic, and is associated with picking up social cues from eye gaze and posture?

Accepted Answer

Perceptual theory of mind is the most basic form, involving the ability to pick up social cues from eye gaze and posture.

Question 2

The complementary posture of one displaying dominance is:

Accepted Answer

Submissiveness is the complementary posture to dominance, as it contrasts with and responds to dominant behavior.

Question 3

Feeling sad after spending a couple of hours with a friend of yours who is feeling very sad is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Emotional contagion is the tendency to experience the same emotions as those around us.

Question 4

If one is experiencing emotional contagion, one may experience feelings of ________ when around people who are very happy.

Accepted Answer

Emotional contagion is the tendency to experience the same emotions as the people around us. When we are around people who are very happy, we may experience feelings of happiness ourselves.

Question 5

Which requires reflective awareness and involves generating an appropriate emotional response?

Accepted Answer

Empathy requires reflective awareness and involves understanding and sharing the feelings of another person, generating an appropriate emotional response.

Question 6

Postpartum depression can lead to difficulties with:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Postpartum depression can lead to difficulties with:
...

Question 7

In the 2006 study by Harrison, Singer, Rotshtein, Dolan, and Critchley on how pupil size effects perception, what was the finding?

Accepted Answer

Faces with smaller pupils were rated as more sad, and the participants unconsciously mimicked the smaller pupil size.

Question 8

Edinger-Westphal nuclei regulate reflexive contractions of the:

Accepted Answer

The Edinger-Westphal nuclei are a pair of nuclei located in the midbrain that regulate the parasympathetic innervation of the eye. They control the pupillary light reflex, which is the constriction of the pupil in response to light.

Question 9

An individual with a high amount of emotion contagion will display ___________ when viewing a face with constricted pupils.

Accepted Answer

Emotion contagion can lead to mirroring of physiological responses, such as pupil constriction when viewing a face with constricted pupils.

Question 10

As shown in the 1999 study by Perron at al. and the 2004 study by Singer at al., these areas are active when receiving painful stimulation, and also when observing loved one receive painful stimulation:

Accepted Answer

The anterior insula and the anterior cingulate cortex are known to be involved in the emotional and empathetic response to pain, both when experiencing it directly and when observing others in pain.

Question 11

If you and a loved one were participating in an experiment on empathy and their hand was given a painful shock, which of your brain regions should be active?

Accepted Answer

The anterior insula and the anterior cingulate cortex are involved in processing empathy and emotional pain, making them active when witnessing a loved one in pain.

Question 12

In the 2006 study by Singer et al. on empathy, participants played a cooperative game with an actor, who either played cooperatively or uncooperatively. The actor then received a painful shock. What was the outcome of this experiment?

Accepted Answer

The study found that participants showed more empathy-related brain activation when observing cooperative partners receiving pain, and men showed a higher tendency for revenge on uncooperative partners.

Question 13

What is the difference between emotional empathy and cognitive empathy?

Accepted Answer

Emotional empathy involves feeling what another person feels, while cognitive empathy involves understanding how another person feels.

Question 14

If you have a lesion of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, what will be difficult for you?

Accepted Answer

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is involved in decision-making and social cognition, including theory of mind, which is the ability to understand others' mental states.

Question 15

Which disorder is associated with having difficulty with both cognitive and emotional empathy?

Accepted Answer

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with having difficulty with both cognitive and emotional empathy.

Question 16

What would a person with autism spectrum disorder LIKELY do if they observed a person crying?

Accepted Answer

A person with autism spectrum disorder may have difficulty understanding or responding to social and emotional cues, which could result in laughing at the sound or having no emotional reaction.

Question 17

What would a person with autism spectrum disorder LIKELY do if they were in the same room with someone who feels afraid?

Accepted Answer

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder may have difficulty recognizing or responding to others' emotions, which can result in a lack of emotional reaction.

Question 18

Which of the following is a behavior exhibited by one with psychopathy?

Accepted Answer

Psychopathy is characterized by a range of antisocial behaviors, including aggression, impulsivity, and a lack of empathy, which can manifest in actions such as aggression, unsolicited sexual acts, and theft.

Question 19

What does it mean that some cases of psychopathy are congenital?

Accepted Answer

Congenital means present from birth, so congenital psychopathy refers to individuals who were born with psychopathic traits.

Question 20

Those with antisocial personality traits tend to show ___________ in the medial and lateral frontopolar cortex, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the orbitofrontal cortex.

Accepted Answer

Individuals with antisocial personality traits often exhibit reduced levels of grey matter in specific brain regions, including the medial and lateral frontopolar cortex, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the orbitofrontal cortex, which are associated with decision-making and social behavior.

Quiz 15: Social Cognition