Deck 13: Social Cognition

Question 1

Which of the following hypothetical programs would be MOST helpful toward alleviating the social deficits typically observed in antisocial personality disorder (APD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or schizophrenia?

A)A program that is able to teach people with ASD how to interpret intentions of others.
B)A program that is able to teach people with APD social rules and expectations.
C)A program that is able to teach people with schizophrenia to be less paranoid of others.
D)A program that is able to teach people with schizophrenia to follow the gaze of others.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The self-referent effect refers to the phenomenon that

A)social judgments about oneself tend to be biased.
B)social judgments about oneself tend to be highly accurate.
C)information processed in relation to the self is distorted in memory.
D)information processed in relation to the self is enhanced in memory.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Baron Cohen has proposed that people with ________ have impaired theory-of-mind abilities, coining the term mindblindness.

A)aphasia
B)agnosia
C)agraphia
D)autism spectrum disorder

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When deciding whether an adjective describes ________, we rely on ________.

A)others; memories of specific behaviors
B)ourselves; memories of specific behaviors
C)others; more global perceptions
D)ourselves AND others; memories of specific behaviors AND more global perceptions

Question 5

Which brain area seems to be the most important for selectively attending to positive self-relevant information, as opposed to negative self-relevant information?

A)the anterior cingulate cortex
B)the medial prefrontal cortex
C)the orbitofrontal cortex
D)the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Question 6

Which of the following resulted in the significant personality changes observed in Phineas Gage?

A)Parkinson's disease
B)temporal lobe epilepsy
C)orbitofrontal damage
D)limbic damage

Question 7

A traumatic brain injury in which impact causes the brain to bounce against the back of the skull and then rebound is known as a ________ injury.

A)coup de foudre
B)coup de main
C)coup-contrecoup
D)coup d'oeil

Question 8

Which of the following areas is LEAST involved in social cognition?

A)ventromedial prefrontal cortex
B)inferior frontal gyrus
C)anterior cingulate gyrus
D)dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Question 9

Studies using fMRI have found that neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex ________ when people make self-referential judgments compared to other judgments, suggesting that when we are "at rest" we are engaging in a number of self-referential processes.

A)increases more
B)increases less
C)decreases more
D)decreases less

Question 10

The most salient symptom in people who have suffered damage to the orbitofrontal cortex is

A)inappropriate social behavior.
B)aphasia.
C)intellectual disability
D)agnosia.

Question 11

In an experiment by William Kelley and colleagues (2002), participants judged personality adjectives in relation to either themselves or the U.S. president. The results suggested that memory for words processed in relation to the self was ________ than that for words processed in relation to the U.S. president, and that the former condition resulted in greater neural activity in the ________ cortex.

A)better; dorsolateral prefrontal
B)worse; dorsolateral prefrontal
C)better; medial prefrontal
D)worse; medial prefrontal

Question 12

In what way might the self-referent effect and the depth-of-processing effect be related?

A)Information processed in relation to the self may benefit from the wealth of information about the self in memory.
B)Information processed in relation to the self may be skewed by our biased representations of our own personalities and traits.
C)The self is a special cognitive structure with unique mnemonic or organizational elements.
D)The self has elements that promote processing in a way that is distinct from other cognitive systems.

Question 13

Phineas Gage, who suffered injury to the orbitofrontal cortex, experienced changes in all of the following areas as a result of his injury EXCEPT

A)inhibition of inappropriate social behavior.
B)performance on cognitive tests.
C)planning of complex behaviors.
D)personality and temperament.

Question 14

Which brain region is the most susceptible to coup-contrecoup injury?

A)the occipital cortex
B)the parietal cortex
C)the temporal cortex
D)the orbitofrontal cortex

Question 15

People with retrograde and anterograde amnesia are ________ to maintain a sense of self because our judgments about self-characteristics are ________ recall of specific past behaviors.

A)able; dependent on
B)able; not linked to
C)not able; dependent on
D)not able; not linked to

Question 16

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERP) studies suggest that the medial prefrontal cortex may be involved in tasks requiring

A)hierarchical processing.
B)self-referential processing.
C)implicit memory.
D)perceptual memory.

Question 17

Stanley Klein and colleagues (2002) found that after rating a personality adjective for self-descriptiveness, participants were ________ to recall a time in which they exhibited the characteristic, suggesting that self-characteristics ________ linked to recall of specific past behaviors.

A)faster; are
B)slower; are not
C)equally fast; are
D)equally fast; are not

Question 18

Which term describes the deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder?

A)change blindness
B)faceblindness
C)blindsight
D)mindblindness

Question 19

What were the circumstances under which Phineas Gage sustained his brain injury?

A)a 20-foot fall during construction of the Eiffel Tower that resulted in coup-contrecoup injury
B)a gunshot wound during the Battle of Gettysburg that penetrated his skull
C)an explosion while laying a Vermont railway that sent a tamping iron through his head
D)a shipwreck off the coast of Australia that deprived his brain of oxygen for 10 minutes

Question 20

One concern with interpreting fMRI studies employing a "resting state" for comparison with cognitive activities of interest is that

A)the brain uses considerably more blood and oxygen when it is "at rest."
B)many processes are engaged "at rest," including self-referential processes.
C)participants in experiments are particularly prone to movement artifacts when "at rest."
D)there is too little blood flow in the brain "at rest" for accurate measurements.

Question 21

A patient recently had a tumor near his temporoparietal junction (TPJ) removed. Since then, he has been experiencing occasional out-of-body experiences. Which of the following surgical ramifications might explain this?

A)removal of a brain region that inhibits TPJ activity
B)disruption of activity in TPJ
C)removal of a brain region that stimulates TPJ
D)disruption of white matter tracts emanating from TPJ

Question 22

Most children who are asked to sort a set of facial pictures will likely sort on the basis of ________, whereas autistic children will likely sort on the basis of ________.

A)emotional expression; physical features
B)physical features; emotional expression
C)eye gaze; emotional expression
D)emotional expression; eye gaze

Question 23

In a social faux pas experiment, participants are presented with a scenario in which one character accidentally says something impolite to another character. When people with orbitofrontal damage perform this task

A)they fail to understand that anything impolite has been said.
B)they understand that something impolite has been said but that it wasn't intended.
C)they believe that the impolite comment was intentional.
D)they begin to imitate the impolite comments, not realizing this is inappropriate.

Question 24

The term theory of mind refers to

A)the philosophical position that the mind is not reducible to the brain.
B)our ability to make inferences about the mental states of other people.
C)the argument that only humans experience self-awareness.
D)the notion that human cognition is deeply rooted in mental representation.

Question 25

Anomalies in bodily experience, such as xenomelia and alien limb syndrome, are generally thought to be due to __________, but are actually due to __________.

A)issues with peripheral nerves stemming from the affected limb; psychological issues
B)psychological issues; issues with peripheral nerves stemming from the affected limb
C)psychological issues; issues with processing in a particular area of the brain related to sensorimotor integration
D)issues with processing in a particular area of the brain related to sensorimotor integration; psychological issues

Question 26

What do mentalizing tasks have in common with attentional cuing tasks?

A)Both tasks have strong social cognition components.
B)Both tasks strongly engage the right anterior cingulate.
C)Both tasks require that participants direct their attention away from invalid information.
D)Both tasks strongly engage the right anterior cingulate, and both tasks require that participants direct their attention away from invalid information.

Question 27

The Sally-Anne task is used to test whether someone

A)understands that people can have different mental states.
B)possesses unconscious biases against women.
C)follows social conventions for appropriate behavior.
D)can form new declarative memories accurately.

Question 28

Single-cell recording studies in monkeys and human neuroimaging studies support the idea that the ________ is important for interpreting eye gaze in relation to mental states.

A)temporoparietal junction
B)superior temporal sulcus
C)orbitofrontal cortex
D)medial frontal cortex

Question 29

Tasks involving thinking about mental states often engage which region of the brain, in comparison to thinking about social background or life events?

A)the left inferior frontal lobe
B)the left precentral gyrus
C)the right temporoparietal junction
D)the right anterior cingulate

Question 30

Studies of people with autism have suggested that they do not significantly deactivate the ________ when performing non-self-referential tasks. This is consistent with the observation that many people with autism have an unusual focus on ________ rather than ________.

A)medial prefrontal cortex; the external world; internal states
B)medial prefrontal cortex; internal states; the external world
C)temporoparietal junction; their own mental states; the mental states of others
D)temporoparietal junction; the mental states of others; their own mental states

Question 31

Which of the following is true of the prefrontal cortex, schizophrenia, and depression?

A)Both schizophrenia and depression are associated with hypermetabolism in the prefrontal cortex.
B)Both schizophrenia and depression are associated with hypometabolism in the prefrontal cortex.
C)While schizophrenia is associated with hypermetabolism in the prefrontal cortex, depression is associated with hypometabolism in the prefrontal cortex.
D)While schizophrenia is associated with hypometabolism in the prefrontal cortex, depression is associated with hypermetabolism in the prefrontal cortex.

Question 32

Which of the following statements best characterizes our ability to modulate our empathic responses?

A)Our empathic responses are generally static and not variable from one situation to another.
B)Our empathic responses are mostly static, but can be modulated in very specific situations, such as when a person's job requires them to inflict pain upon others.
C)Our empathic responses are mostly static, but can be modulated in situations where we have very strong feelings or connections to others.
D)Our empathic responses are not particularly static, and can be modulated even by relatively trivial connections to others.

Question 33

Studies of the perception of the self and others have suggested that

A)similar regions of the medial prefrontal cortex are activated when we answer questions about the self and about others.
B)similar regions of the medial prefrontal cortex are activated when we answer questions about the self and about others, if they are close.
C)similar regions of the medial prefrontal cortex are activated when we answer questions about others, regardless of whether they are close.
D)three distinct regions of the medial prefrontal cortex are activated when we answer questions about the self, close others, and acquaintances.

Question 34

When reading a series of statements such as "At the party, he was the first to start dancing on the table," the ________ is more active when making a personality inference as opposed to remembering the order of the statements.

A)anterior insula cortex
B)dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
C)anterior cingulate cortex
D)medial prefrontal cortex

Question 35

If neuroimaging studies showed that entirely different brain regions were activated when a person experienced pain from those that are activated when a person viewed or imagined someone else experiencing pain, this would

A)be inconsistent with mirror neuron involvement in empathic processes.
B)indicate that this person does not experience empathy.
C)indicate that this person felt different quantities of pain for self versus others.
D)provide evidence for embodied simulation.

Question 36

What did Ami Klin find when autistic people watched the film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

A)They failed to understand the sarcasm in the dialogue.
B)They began to refer to an imaginary child like the characters in the movie.
C)They did not pay attention to the faces and eyes of the characters.
D)They mimicked the lines spoken by Martha but not George.

Question 37

Autistic children are likely to report that ________ when performing the Sally-Anne task.

A)Sally will look in the location in which Anne has put the marble
B)Sally will look in the location where she originally put the marble
C)Sally will move the marble back to its original location
D)Sally will prefer to focus on her own thoughts and not look for the marble

Question 38

People with damage to the orbitofrontal cortex tend to be ________ of their social mistakes in the moment, ________ become embarrassed by them if they view a video of themselves after the fact.

A)aware; and they also
B)aware; but they do not
C)unaware; but they do
D)unaware; and they do not

Question 39

Studies of the neural bases of autism have found that people with autism

A)have less activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and superior temporal sulcus when performing theory of mind tasks.
B)have smaller amygdalae in comparison to nonautistic people.
C)do not significantly deactivate the medial prefrontal cortex when performing non-self-referential tasks.
D)All of the answer options are true.

Question 40

To engage in joint attention, a child will pay attention to

A)the direction of your eye gaze.
B)the content of your speech.
C)your hand gestures.
D)your body language.

Question 41

False-belief tasks require participants to direct their attention away from invalid information to answer questions about another person's mental states.

Question 42

Simulation theory suggests that theory of mind is based on an ability to put ourselves in the shoes of another person, using our own minds to simulate what might be going on in the mind of someone else.

Question 43

If a stroke patient was better at answering abstract conditional logic questions that evaluate rule violations than at answering equivalent logic questions that evaluate rule violations involving people, this would indicate that the person's stroke most likely had

A)nonspecifically compromised the patient's problem-solving abilities.
B)specifically affected the patient's brain system attuned to social contract violations.
C)not affected any brain systems involved with solving either of these types of problems.
D)compromised the patient's Theory of Mind capabilities.

Question 44

Information processed in relation to the self is better remembered than that which is processed in relation to others.

Question 45

The anterior cingulate cortex is important for distinguishing positive self-relevant information from negative self-relevant information.

Question 46

Research suggests that the brain regions that are active during mentalizing tasks and during attentional cuing are functionally distinct from one another.

Question 47

Research suggests that self-description judgments rely on recall of specific autobiographical episodes.

Question 48

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plays a strong role in forming impressions about the internal states of other people.

Question 49

Neuroeconomics is the field of philosophy that discusses the rights and wrongs of the treatment or enhancement of the human brain.

Question 50

The trolley problem and footbridge problem are ethical thought experiments involving life-or-death situations. Which of the following is true?

A)Both situations involve sacrificing one life to save multiple other lives.
B)The death in the trolley problem has greater perceived personal involvement.
C)Most people agree that it is unacceptable to act in either dilemma.
D)Thinking about the trolley problem results in greater emotional processing.

Question 51

Phineas Gage was a famous neurological patient who suffered damage to the orbitofrontal cortex.

Question 52

In the experimental economics task known as the "Ultimatum Game," one participant must choose how to split a sum of money with another player. The second player can choose to accept the offer-or to reject it, meaning neither player receives anything. Consideration of unfair offers is associated with activity in the ________, an area that has been associated with disgust.

A)superior temporal sulcus
B)orbitofrontal cortex
C)cingulate cortex
D)insula

Question 53

Functional MRI studies of ethical dilemmas suggest that ________ decisions recruit working memory processes, whereas ________ decisions recruit emotional and social cognitive processes.

A)personal; impersonal
B)impersonal; personal
C)moral; ethical
D)ethical; moral

Question 54

In a teasing experiment, people with orbitofrontal injuries and control participants were asked to make up nicknames for an experimenter whom they did not know well. What were the results?

A)The control participants chose flattering nicknames, whereas the people with orbitofrontal injuries chose unflattering ones.
B)The people with orbitofrontal injuries chose flattering nicknames, whereas the control participants chose unflattering ones.
C)The control participants refused to perform the task, finding the idea socially inappropriate.
D)The people with orbitofrontal injuries refused to perform the task, finding the idea socially inappropriate.

Question 55

The experimental economics task known as the "Ultimatum Game" provides evidence that humans

A)make decisions that maximize rewards and minimize losses.
B)make decisions that maximize rewards and minimize losses, unless they have suffered damage to the amygdala.
C)do not always make decisions that maximize rewards and minimize losses.
D)do not always make decisions that maximize rewards and minimize losses, unless they have suffered damage to the orbitofrontal cortex.

Question 56

Describe the role of the medial prefrontal cortex in the perception of the self and of others. How might the two be related?

Question 57

Neuroimaging studies suggest that the medial prefrontal cortex activates more relative to a baseline when people make self-referential judgments than when they make other kinds of judgments.

Question 58

What evidence supports the notion that autistic people are "mindblind?" What are some alternative hypotheses?

Question 59

Raine (2002) has argued that ________ factors play a role in determining whether someone exhibits violent behavior.

A)genetic
B)environmental
C)both genetic and environmental
D)neither genetic nor environmental

Question 60

What is the self-referent effect? Describe a neuropsychological study-real or hypothetical-that would support or disprove the self-referent effect.

Question 61

Do patients with retrograde and anterograde amnesia have difficulty with their self-representation? Please explain why this is.

Question 62

The trolley problem described in your text has many variations. One of them goes as follows: "You are a surgeon and have five patients who each need a different organ transplant. No acceptable donor for any of them can be found, until one day a healthy traveler comes to your office and is the perfect donor for all five patients. Are there any circumstances under which it would be morally acceptable to kill this person to save the lives of five others?" Based on the study of Greene and colleagues, which areas of your brain did you likely use when thinking about this ethical dilemma?

Question 63

The Sally-Anne task is used to test whether someone can understand how others' thoughts differ from our own. Describe two populations that have difficulty with this task. What is similar or different about these populations?

Question 64

Experimental economics research has often assumed that humans behave as rational agents, always making choices that will maximize gains and minimize losses. What is problematic about this assumption from a psychological or neuroscientific perspective?

Question 65

People with orbitofrontal damage show difficulty with which types of tasks? Describe their symptoms. How are they different from children with autism?

Question 66

Joint attention is an important aspect of social interaction. How do children with autism differ in joint attention from children who do not have autism?