Timing and localization of Spontaneous & Intentional Goal and Trait Inferences

1. Timing and localization of Spontaneous & Intentional Goal and Trait Inferences Frank Van Overwalle with Marijke Van Duynslaeger, Laurence Van der Cruyssen, Aisha Cortoos, & Ma Ning

2. Social Judgments + - + - + - + -

3. Social Judgments Silvia Tomelleri ? ? Nigel Blackwood Alex Todorov Anja Achtzinger David Turk Ian Apperly Dana Samson You shall not judge Neil Macrae Dean Mobbs Iroise Dumontheil Sam Gilbert Bruno Rossion

4. The Social Brain • How is this computed in the brain? • Goals of single behaviors • Traits by integrating multiple behaviors • Results of recent meta-analysis (Van Overwalle, 2008, HBM)…

5. The Social Brain: Goals Left view Temporo-Parietal Junction (TPJ) where–togoal Back Front

6. The Social Brain: Traits Middle view multiple events: scripts traits: about others multiple events: traits Back Front medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) traits about self and familiar others

7. Mirror System Left view I move it’s goal ! where to trait Mirror System PMC Back Front it moves… my goal ! my goal ! my goal !

8. Mirror System TPJ / inferior Parietal lobe Goals of behaviors (x=foot, +=head) Goals of MY behaviors (x=foot, +=head) Left view body movements Premotor Cortex (PMC) Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS) Back Front

9. How making Inferences? do I infer the right goal?

10. How making Inferences? • The Mirror Theory assumes that Goal inferences are automatic (Keysers & Gazzola, 2007): • Vortram buys tons of soft drinks • Vortram installs some colorful spot lights. • Vortram phones all his good friends • What is the goal?

11. How making Inferences? • Intentional (ISI):with clear intent and awareness - Most often used in earlier EEG & fMRI studies • Spontaneous (SSI):without intention and little awareness that we are making them - Past social cognition research has shown that we often do this

12. The Social Brain time integration = intentional ? mirror system = spontaneous ? it’s goal ! where to ? trait it moves… my goal !

13. Research Inconsistent behavioral information paradigm: in a stream of consistent behaviors implying the same goal or trait, occasionally inconsistent behaviors are shown EEG is taken while reading these (in)consistent behaviors

14. Method Several sentences depict word-by-word (each 300ms) the behavior of an actor: searches Vortran quickly for some xxxx Timing Starts

15. Goal Divod takes the long green hose Divod drives his family car outside Divod searches for the powerful soap Divod rubs softly with his xxxx • Goal-consistent: xxxx=sponge • Goal-inconsistent: xxxx=mud (negative) • Goal-irrelevant: xxxx=hands • No-Goal observations e.g., spring, summer to wash car

16. Traits Tolvan gives his brother a hug Tolvan gives his father a compliment Tolvan gives his sister a kiss Tolvan gives his mother a xxxx • Trait-consistent: xxxx=rose • Inconsistent - Opposite: xxxx=slap (negative) • Trait-irrelevant: xxxx=spoon is kind

17. Goal & Trait Vortran gets at home colorful decorations Vortran calls all his good friends Vortran selects for everyone’s taste music Vortran looks for xxxx • Goal/Trait-consistent: xxxx=enoughsoft drinks • Goal/Trait-inconsistent: xxxx=foodfor herself (n.) • Goal/Trait-irrelevant: xxxx=dust oncupboards • No-Goal/Trait observations e.g., spring, summer to party / is social

18. Design • Instruction • SSI “read carefully & familiarize with material” • ISI “identify goal / trait of actor” • Inconsistent behavioral information task • EEGat all 19 channels • Behavioral measures: • Cued Recall • Sentence CompletionVortram calls all his good ………

19. Goal-Cued Recall % (Van der Cruyssen et al., 2008) “Recall sentences with the aid of this cue [=goal]” goals were formed & memorized

20. Trait-Cued Recall % (Van Duynslaeger et al., 2007) “Recall sentences with the aid of this cue [=trait]” traits were formed & memorized

21. Event-Related Potentials Event-related Potentials (ERP) are averaged EEG • reflecting processes in the brain • with millisecond accuracy N100-P200 (negative-positive deflection at ~150-200 ms) is seen after inconsistencies in perceptual features early = automatic P300(positive deflection at > 300 ms) is seen after inconsistencies in judgments late = reflective

22. Spontaneous Goals (Van der Cruyssen et al., 2008) P200 Inconsistent goals? Too flexible

23. Intentional Goals(Van der Cruyssen et al., 2008) P200 No-goal is a better baseline

24. Opposite Traits: P300(Van Duynslaeger et al., 2008) 0 ms 500 ms 1000 ms SSI ISI TC+TI+ P300 TC+TI+

25. Spontaneous Goals & Traits(Van Overwalle et al., 2009)

26. Intentional Goals & Traits(Van Overwalle et al., 2009)

27. Timing: Implications • SSI & ISI similar in timing: early and automatic for goals: 200 ms traits confirmed in goals: 150-200 ms late and reflective for traits: 400-600 ms Parallel between SSI and ISI ?

28. Goals (Consistent – No-Goal)

29. Goals (Consistent – No-Goal)

30. Traits(Consistent - Irrelevant)

31. Traits: Location @ 600 ms

32. Goals & Traits(Consistent – No Goal)

33. Location @200-225 ~ Goal-Cued Recall

34. Location @ 600 ~ Trait-Cued Recall

35. Implications: Location Parallels between SSI & ISI due to automatic goal detection @ 200–250 ms in TPJ Differentiation during trait identification @ 600–700 ms (200–300 ms trait confirmation after goal) • TPJ during spontaneous (mPFC trait confirmation) • mPFC during intentional

36. Traits: fMRI

37. Implications for Social Brain Mirror system: Automatic Goal200 ms Early or Late Trait150-200 or 600 ms What are / about spontaneous traits @ 200 / 600 ms?

38. Questions for Future research • Spontaneous traits may also involve the mPFC (but activated to a lesser extent – see also fMRI)? • What is  traits over and above goals? Traits identified so fast because confirmatory? • How to probe beliefs: Are they in fact causal inferences (which also occur spontaneously)? Saxe & Powel, 2006: Nicky knew that his sister’s flight from San Francisco was delayed ten hours. [Because] Only one flight was delayed so much that night, so when he got to the airport, he knew that flight was hers. Rob tied his dog’s leash to a lamppost while he went into a store to buy coffee. When he came out, his dog had run across the street. He guessed that [because] the leash had come untied.

39. Thank you