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The Dissenter

#875 Uta Frith & Chris Frith: What Makes Us Social?

Dec 18, 2023
Renowned psychologist Uta Frith discusses social cognition, learning and imitation, emotions, our need to affiliate, and more in the podcast. She is joined by Chris Frith, and they explore topics like the brain as a prediction machine, the concept of mentalizing, diversity in group decision-making, the role of teaching in cultural transmission, and more.
01:08:29

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Learning from others is more efficient than making our own mistakes and plays a crucial role in transmitting culture and knowledge.
  • Teaching is unique to humans and contributes to the cumulative nature of culture, shaping the way we understand the world and make decisions.

Deep dives

Social cognition and its importance in understanding human behavior

Social cognition is the study of the mechanisms that underlie the various processes involved in social interactions. All aspects of psychology can be considered social psychology, as our thoughts and actions are influenced by the presence of others. Cooperation, competition, computation, and culture are the four major categories that encompass social interactions. Learning from others is more efficient than making our own mistakes, and we learn various types of information, such as others' preferences, goals, and beliefs. Mutual adaptation and teaching play a crucial role in transmitting culture and knowledge.

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