1. 1 it’s pure and simple...

2. 2 The Fabric of the Social World dr fenja ziegler c82 sadlecture 1

3. 3 are you a mind reader? predict and explain behaviour using abstract concepts: mind desire think

4. 4 mind, chocolate & Ford T predicting behaviour understanding behaviour deception language imagination communication action understanding morals empathy imitation transmission of knowledge chocolate search behaviour

5. 5 time’s not on our side 6 million years ago 2 million years ago homo modern humans australopithecines

6. 6 4,500,000,000,000 in 24 hours (Bryson, 2003) 00:00 am: beginning of earth history 04:00 am: beginning of life (single cell organism) 16 (sixteen!) hours later.... 08:30 pm: Sea plants 08:50 pm: Jellyfish & Ediacaran fauna 09:04 pm: Trilobites & Burgess Shale creatures 09:59 pm: Land plants 10:01 pm: Land creatures 10:24 pm: Carboniferous forest cover & winged insects 10:59 pm: Dinosaurs 11:39 pm: Dinosaurs extinct & Start of Age of Mammals 11:58:43 pm: Humans Midnight:... now... this lecture

7. 7 time’s not on our side 6 million years ago 2 million years ago homo modern humans australopithecines

8. 8 time’s not on our side 99%

9. 9 time’s not on our side tool use symbolic communication complex social organisations

10. 10 time’s not on our side biological evolution: too slow (cumulative) cultural evolution ratchet effect no one single individual, but build on existing knowledge others are like me learn from and through the other what things are ‘for’

11. 11 it’s not really about chocolate... building blocks of mentalising development typical abnormal adults and infants neural processes how we do it are we really the only ones? associated skills and problems know others, know thyself

12. 12 before you connect with other minds others are like me... what’s me? the brain that can reflect on itself the development of knowledge about the self dawning of an understanding of one’s own existence

13. 13 how do I know that you know that you are you? an agent of your own actions And aware that you are how do you know it is you? Gordon Gallup Jr.

14. 14 mirror, mirror on the wall is that me? cat treats reflection as other cat are YOU afraid of your own shadow? self concept (including what I normally cannot see) who’s me? not you seeing mirror reflection or video recording (Povinelli et al. 1996)

15. 15 what does this really show? mirror recognition is artefact of anesthesia self-recognition does not imply self concept implies agency, but agency possessed by all mobile non- humans (avoid collisions) Heyes’s critique

16. 16 Gallup’s response some studies don’t involve anaesthetic apes marked selectively touch the marked zone | apes unmarked do not passing the test is species specific passing in chimps is linked to chronological age in chimps; passed 8 years old necessary but not sufficient for judgements of ignorance (children and apes) Daniel Povinelli

17. 17 from me to you....you are like me I can see you I can’t see me I can feel this I can’t feel that Andy Meltzoff

18. 18 know thyself... who knows best is authority who’s the authority on you? does Mum know best?

19. 19 from physical to psychological Rosenberg (1967) Who am I? ten things children aged 10: focus on physical qualities adolescents: aspects of relationships with others character inner feelings “If I asked you and your mother how good you were, and you said one thing and she said another, who would be right?” 70% of 10 year olds say mother would be right 60% of 15 year olds say they would be right

20. 20 interior and exterior who knows best...? characteristics and behaviour (external): how good at sums? how well Beth can sit still? how fast you can run? how hard Tommy works? how good at tidying your room? how helpful Beth is? Morris Rosenberg (1979) aged 11 Sarah Burton and Mitchell (2003) thoughts and feelings (internal) what you secrets are? what games Tommy likes? what you want to be when you grow up? when Beth cries who knows best what is wrong? what your favourite food is? who knows best when Tommy is feeling hungry? Specific Questions Self and Other Child Different adults

21. 21 so, who knows...best? Even 7 y.o. cite themselves Sharp Age trend 6 y.o. sensitive to interior/ exterior

22. 22 WHY do children start out thinking they don’t know their own mind? failure to grasp the value of first person subjective access Why? Wittgenstein’s private language argument (Montgomery, 1997) The role of culture: parents tell us that they can read our minds more prevalent in South East Asia than Western society (Fivush & Wang, 2005) private language Internal State External correlates

23. 23 bananas... and mental representation pretend play from 18 months old: explore a hypothetical world via symbolism dawning of understanding other minds dual representation object as is pretend object Alan Leslie

24. 24 morals and empathy emotional contagion imitation empathy It’s your pain not mine I feel your painEmpathic awareness

25. 25 the shape of things to come 1. Fabric and Building blocks 2. Ontogeny of Mentalising 3. Phylogeny: the Mental world of apes (and others) 4. Mindblind: Autism 5. Not just what, but how?

26. 26 selected key references Burton, S., & Mitchell, P. (2003). Child Development, 74, 426-444. Heyes, C. M. (1994). Animal Behaviour, 47, 909-919 Leslie, A.M. (1987). Psychological Review, 94, 412-426. Meltzoff, A. N., & Moore, M. K. (1977). Science, 198(4312), 74-78. Povinelli, D.J. & Eddy, T.J. (1996).Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (Vol. 61, No. 247) Povinelli, D.J., Landau, K.R., & Perilloux, H.K. (1996). Child Development, 67, 1540-1554. Tomasello, Michael (1999) The cultural origins of human cognition. London: HUP

27. 27 cognitive evolution