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Evidence for spontaneous level-2 perspective taking in adults
Fruzsina Elekes1, Máté Varga2, Ildikó Király3
1Doctoral School of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella str. 46, Budapest 1064, Hungary; Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella str. 46, Budapest 1064, Hungary; Cognitive Development Center, Central European University, Október 6. str. 7, Budapest 1051, Hungary.
Consciousness and Cognition
|February 22, 2016
Summary
Humans can spontaneously compute others' level-2 perspectives, which include aspectual information. This occurs when individuals believe their partner is aware of these specific object features, influencing social interactions.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Cognition
- Theory of Mind
Background:
- Social interactions rely on understanding others' perspectives.
- Limited cognitive capacity suggests spontaneous perspective taking (PT) is restricted to Level-1.
- Level-2 PT, involving aspectual information, was previously thought non-spontaneous.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if Level-2 PT can occur spontaneously.
- To determine if awareness of aspectual properties influences spontaneous Level-2 PT.
- To test the hypothesis that spontaneous Level-2 PT is conditional on perceived partner awareness.
Main Methods:
- Modified number verification paradigm with adult pairs.
- Manipulation of prior information about the partner's task (processing aspectual properties or not).
- Measurement of reaction times (RTs) to assess interference from partner's perspective.
Main Results:
- Partner's inconsistent perspective interfered with RTs, indicating spontaneous Level-2 PT.
- Interference occurred only when the partner's task involved aspectual properties.
- Evidence suggests PT is sensitive to the partner's awareness of represented information.
Conclusions:
- Spontaneous Level-2 PT is possible and influenced by perceived partner awareness.
- Cognitive systems can compute complex perspectives when contextually relevant.
- Findings refine understanding of the flexibility and conditions of Theory of Mind.
Keywords:
AspectualityAwarenessSocial partnerSpontaneous level-2 perspective takingTwo systems approach in ToMMore Related Videos
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