The neural underpinnings of an optimal exploitation of social information under uncertainty

Ulf Toelch; Dominik R. Bach; Raymond J. Dolan

doi:10.1093/scan/nst173

The neural underpinnings of an optimal exploitation of social information under uncertainty

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nst173 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 1746-1753 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Ulf Toelch ◽

Dominik R. Bach ◽

Raymond J. Dolan

Keyword(s):

Social Information ◽

Optimal Exploitation ◽

Neural Underpinnings

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Processing of facial expressions of same-race and other-race faces: distinct and shared neural underpinnings

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nsab027 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xuena Wang ◽

Shihui Han

Keyword(s):

Facial Expressions ◽

Social Information ◽

Target Face ◽

Affective Processing ◽

Neuronal Responses ◽

Chinese Adults ◽

Rapid Succession ◽

Neural Activities ◽

Repetition Suppression ◽

Neural Underpinnings

Abstract People understand others’ emotions quickly from their facial expressions. However, facial expressions of ingroup and outgroup members may signal different social information and thus be mediated by distinct neural activities. We investigated whether there are distinct neuronal responses to fearful and happy expressions of same-race (SR) and other-race (OR) faces. We recorded electroencephalogram from Chinese adults when viewing an adaptor face (with fearful/neutral expressions in Experiment 1 but happy/neutral expressions in Experiment 2) and a target face (with fearful expressions in Experiment 1 but happy expressions in Experiment 2) presented in rapid succession. We found that both fearful and happy (vs neutral) adaptor faces increased the amplitude of a frontocentral positivity (P2). However, a fearful but not happy (vs neutral) adaptor face decreased the P2 amplitudes to target faces, and this repetition suppression (RS) effect occurred when adaptor and target faces were of the same race but not when of different races. RS was observed on two late parietal/central positive activities to fearful/happy target faces, which, however, occurred regardless of whether adaptor and target faces were of the same or different races. Our findings suggest that early affective processing of fearful expressions may engage distinct neural activities for SR and OR faces.

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Hostility and Perceptions of Support in Ambiguous Social Interactions

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001.27.2.108 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 108-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ana-Maria Vranceanu ◽

Linda C. Gallo ◽

Laura M. Bogart

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Networks ◽

Information Processing ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Social Information Processing ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Social Information ◽

Inverse Association ◽

Processing Bias ◽

Information Processing Bias

The present study investigated whether a social information processing bias contributes to the inverse association between trait hostility and perceived social support. A sample of 104 undergraduates (50 men) completed a measure of hostility and rated videotaped interactions in which a speaker disclosed a problem while a listener reacted ambiguously. Results showed that hostile persons rated listeners as less friendly and socially supportive across six conversations, although the nature of the hostility effect varied by sex, target rated, and manner in which support was assessed. Hostility and target interactively impacted ratings of support and affiliation only for men. At least in part, a social information processing bias could contribute to hostile persons' perceptions of their social networks.

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