Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Hindsight Biases01:12

Hindsight Biases

4.5K
Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now? 
4.5K
Fundamental Attribution Error01:14

Fundamental Attribution Error

14.1K
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is...
14.1K
Nonconscious Mimicry01:13

Nonconscious Mimicry

5.2K
Nonconscious mimicry occurs when individuals alter their mannerisms to match the behaviors and expressions of those nearby, without intention.
5.2K
Facial Feedback Hypothesis01:24

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

863
Charles Darwin proposed that facial expressions are an evolutionary adaptation for communication. He argued that these expressions are not influenced by culture but are universal across species. For example, a snarling expression with exposed teeth signals a threat in many animals, including humans. Darwin also suggested that displaying an emotion can intensify the feeling. Smiling, for example, could enhance one's sense of happiness. This idea laid the foundation for understanding the role...
863
Counterfactual Thinking01:19

Counterfactual Thinking

398
Counterfactual thinking is a cognitive process wherein individuals mentally reconstruct alternative versions of past events, often beginning with “what if” or “if only.” This reflective mechanism plays a significant role in shaping emotional experiences and guiding future behavior. Though typically triggered by unfavorable or unexpected outcomes, counterfactual thinking can also emerge in mundane, everyday decisions and experiences, revealing its deep entrenchment in...
398
Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory01:15

Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory

901
Correspondent inference theory, proposed by Jones and Davis in 1965, seeks to explain how individuals infer stable personality traits from observed behaviors. It suggests that people attribute actions to underlying dispositions rather than external circumstances, particularly when the behavior appears intentional and socially significant.Voluntary Behavior and Dispositional AttributionAccording to this theory, individuals are more likely to attribute behavior to personal traits when it appears...
901

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Delegation to legitimate authority as a resource rational mechanism.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026
Same author

Expectations of Reciprocal Generosity Are Specific to Equal Relationships.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2026
Same author

Computational models of social cognition should incorporate social relationships as core primitives.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026
Same author

Precision fMRI reveals that the language network exhibits adult-like left-hemispheric lateralization by 4 years of age.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Children learn what is right or wrong selectively from a legitimate authority's punishment.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same author

The emergence of the language system in the toddler brain.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 6, 2026

A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants
11:14

A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants

Published on: October 4, 2015

11.6K

Theory of mind: a neural prediction problem.

Jorie Koster-Hale1, Rebecca Saxe

  • 1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Neuron
|September 10, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Neural systems predict incoming information, with signals reflecting prediction errors. This predictive coding framework is extended to theory of mind, showing reduced neural activity for predictable social stimuli.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Social Cognition

Background:

  • Predictive coding explains how neural systems anticipate sensory input.
  • Neural signals often encode prediction errors rather than raw stimuli.
  • Theory of Mind (ToM) involves understanding others' mental states.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To extend the predictive coding framework to the domain of Theory of Mind.
  • To investigate neural mechanisms underlying social cognition through the lens of prediction.
  • To explore how the brain processes predictable vs. unpredictable social information.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing neuroscientific evidence on responses to human behavior depictions.
  • Analysis of neural activity patterns in various brain regions.

More Related Videos

The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children's Strategic Lie-telling
06:51

The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children's Strategic Lie-telling

Published on: April 6, 2018

9.0K
Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a Resource Limited Environment to Establish Brain-Behavior Relationships
06:05

Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a Resource Limited Environment to Establish Brain-Behavior Relationships

Published on: April 20, 2022

2.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 6, 2026

A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants
11:14

A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants

Published on: October 4, 2015

11.6K
The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children's Strategic Lie-telling
06:51

The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children's Strategic Lie-telling

Published on: April 6, 2018

9.0K
Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a Resource Limited Environment to Establish Brain-Behavior Relationships
06:05

Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a Resource Limited Environment to Establish Brain-Behavior Relationships

Published on: April 20, 2022

2.4K
  • Comparison of predictive coding signatures with alternative explanations.

    • Main Results:

    • Neural responses to human behavior (e.g., biological motion, traits) show reduced activity for predictable stimuli.
    • This pattern aligns with the key signature of predictive coding across brain regions.
    • Evidence suggests a unified predictive coding mechanism for sensory and social information.

    Conclusions:

    • The predictive coding framework offers a viable model for understanding Theory of Mind computations.
    • Reduced neural activity to predictable social stimuli supports this extended framework.
    • Future research can further elucidate the neural basis of social inference using predictive coding principles.