Individual differences in social and non-social cognitive control

A body detection inversion effect revealed by a large-scale inattentional blindness experiment

As a social species, humans preferentially attend to the faces and bodies of other people. Previous research revealed specialized cognitive mechanisms for processing human faces and bodies. For example, upright person silhouettes are more readily found than inverted silhouettes in visual search tasks. It is unclear, however, whether these findings reflect a top-down attentional bias to social stimuli or bottom-up sensitivity to visual cues signaling the presence of other people. Here, we tested whether the upright human form is preferentially detected in the absence of attention. To rule out influences of top-down attention and expectation, we conducted a large-scale single-trial inattentional blindness experiment on a diverse sample of naive participants (N = 13.539). While participants were engaged in judging the length of a cross at fixation, we briefly presented an unexpected silhouette of a person or a plant next to the cross. Subsequently, we asked whether participants noticed anything other than the cross. Results showed that silhouettes of people were more often noticed than silhouettes of plants. Crucially, upright person silhouettes were also more often detected than inverted person silhouettes, despite these stimuli being identical in their low-level visual features. These results were replicated in a second experiment involving headless person silhouettes. Finally, capitalizing on the exceptionally large and diverse sample, further analyses revealed strong detection differences across age and gender. These results indicate that the visual system is tuned to the form of the upright human body, allowing for the quick detection of other people even in the absence of attention.

Children's physical fitness and cognitive control in China: the moderating role of family support for physical activity

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to explore the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive control in Chinese children, with a focus on gender differences and the moderating role of family support for physical activity (FSFPA).

METHOD

This study employed a cross-sectional design to assess 148 children aged 12-14 years from Guangzhou. Physical fitness was evaluated using the National Student Physical Fitness Standard, family support for physical activity (FSFPA) was measured with the validated Family Support for Physical Activity Scale, and cognitive control was assessed using the Stroop color-word task, Go/No-Go task, and task-cue paradigm. The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis to examine the relationships between variables.

RESULTS

Gender differences were observed in physical fitness and cognitive control. Girls scored higher in physical fitness and showed better accuracy in interference suppression, with faster reaction times in impulse control. BMI and speed were positively correlated with cognitive flexibility in both genders. For boys, cardiopulmonary endurance positively affected interference suppression, and muscle strength influenced impulse control. BMI and speed were linked to cognitive flexibility. For girls, speed, cardiopulmonary endurance, and muscle strength improved interference suppression, while BMI influenced cognitive flexibility. FSFPA moderated the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive control for both genders. It positively impacted interference suppression and cognitive flexibility for both boys and girls.

CONCLUSION

Physical fitness in Chinese children is positively associated with cognitive control, with gender-specific differences in the fitness components influencing cognitive outcomes. FSFPA significantly moderates this relationship, enhancing the positive effects of physical fitness on cognitive control. These findings suggest that promoting physical fitness, particularly through family-based physical activity support, may improve children's cognitive control abilities.

Automatic imitation of vocal actions is unaffected by group membership

Converging evidence from behavioural, neuroimaging, and neurostimulation studies demonstrates that action observation engages corresponding action production mechanisms, a phenomenon termed covert or automatic imitation. Behaviourally, automatic imitation is measured using the stimulus response compatibility (SRC) task, in which participants produce vocal responses whilst perceiving compatible or incompatible speech distractors. Automatic imitation is measured as the difference in response times (RT) between incompatible and compatible trials. It is unclear if and how social group membership, such as the speaker's sex, affects automatic imitation. Two theoretical accounts make different predictions regarding effects of group membership: the first predicts that automatic imitation can be modulated by group membership, while the second predicts that automatic imitation likely remains unaffected. We tested these predictions for participant sex and distractor sex in an online vocal SRC task. Female and male participants completed an SRC task presenting female or male distractor stimuli. The results show that automatic imitation is not modulated by group membership as signalled by sex. Implications of these results regarding the nature of automatic imitation as a largely stimulus-driven process are considered.

Are we capturing individual differences? Evaluating the test-retest reliability of experimental tasks used to measure social cognitive abilities

Social cognitive skills are crucial for positive interpersonal relationships, health, and wellbeing and encompass both automatic and reflexive processes. To assess this myriad of skills, researchers have developed numerous experimental tasks that measure automatic imitation, emotion recognition, empathy, perspective taking, and intergroup bias and have used these to reveal important individual differences in social cognition. However, the very reason these tasks produce robust experimental effects - low between-participant variability - can make their use as correlational tools problematic. We performed an evaluation of test-retest reliability for common experimental tasks that measure social cognition. One-hundred and fifty participants completed the race-Implicit Association Test (r-IAT), Stimulus-Response Compatibility (SRC) task, Emotional Go/No-Go (eGNG) task, Dot Perspective-Taking (DPT) task, and State Affective Empathy (SAE) task, as well as the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and indices of Explicit Bias (EB) across two sessions within 3 weeks. Estimates of test-retest reliability varied considerably between tasks and their indices: the eGNG task had good reliability (ICC = 0.63-0.69); the SAE task had moderate-to-good reliability (ICC = 0.56-0.77); the r-IAT had moderate reliability (ICC = 0.49); the DPT task had poor-to-good reliability (ICC = 0.24-0.60); and the SRC task had poor reliability (ICC = 0.09-0.29). The IRI had good-to-excellent reliability (ICC = 0.76-0.83) and EB had good reliability (ICC = 0.70-0.77). Experimental tasks of social cognition are used routinely to assess individual differences, but their suitability for this is rarely evaluated. Researchers investigating individual differences must assess the test-retest reliability of their measures.

Comparison of trait and state mind wandering among schizotypal, subclinically depressed, and control individuals

BACKGROUND

Mind wandering is a common phenomenon in daily life. However, the manifestations and cognitive correlates of mind wandering in different subclinical populations remain unclear. In this study, these aspects were examined in individuals with schizotypal traits and individuals with depressive symptoms, i.e., subclinical populations of patients with schizophrenia and depression.

METHODS

Forty-two individuals with schizotypal traits, 42 individuals with subclinical depression, and 42 controls were recruited to complete a mind wandering thought sampling task (state level) and a mind wandering questionnaire (trait level). Measures of rumination and cognitive functions (attention, inhibition, and working memory) were also completed by participants.

RESULTS

Both subclinical groups exhibited more state and trait mind wandering than did the control group. Furthermore, individuals with schizotypal traits demonstrated more trait mind wandering than individuals with subclinical depression. Rumination, sustained attention, and working memory were associated with mind wandering. In addition, mind wandering in individuals with subclinical depression can be accounted for by rumination or attention, while mind wandering in individuals with high schizotypal traits cannot be accounted for by rumination, attention, or working memory.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that individuals with high schizotypal traits and subclinical depression have different patterns of mind wandering and mechanisms. These findings have implications for understanding the unique profile of mind wandering in subclinical individuals.

Joint action with human and robotic co-actors: Self-other integration is immune to the perceived humanness of the interacting partner

When performing a joint action task, we automatically represent the action and/or task constraints of the co-actor with whom we are interacting. Current models suggest that, not only physical similarity, but also abstract, conceptual features shared between self and the interacting partner play a key role in the emergence of joint action effects. Across two experiments, we investigated the influence of the perceived humanness of a robotic agent on the extent to which we integrate the action of that agent into our own action/task representation, as indexed by the Joint Simon Effect (JSE). The presence (vs. absence) of a prior verbal interaction was used to manipulate robot's perceived humanness. In Experiment 1, using a within-participant design, we had participants perform the joint Go/No-go Simon task with two different robots. Before performing the joint task, one robot engaged in a verbal interaction with the participant and the other robot did not. In Experiment 2, we employed a between-participants design to contrast these two robot conditions as well as a human partner condition. In both experiments, a significant Simon effect emerged during joint action and its amplitude was not modulated by the humanness of the interacting partner. Experiment 2 further showed that the JSE obtained in robot conditions did not differ from that measured in the human partner condition. These findings contradict current theories of joint action mechanisms according to which perceived self-other similarity is a crucial determinant of self-other integration in shared task settings.

Relationships between the race implicit association test and other measures of implicit and explicit social cognition

Background

The race-based Implicit Association Test (IAT) was proposed to measure individual differences in implicit racial bias subsumed within social cognition. In recent years, researchers have debated the theoretical tenets underpinning the IAT, questioning whether performance on this task: (1) measures implicit attitudes that operate automatically outside of conscious awareness; (2) reflects individual differences in social cognition; and (3) can predict social behavior. One way to better address these research questions is to assess whether the race-IAT correlates with other implicit processes that are subsumed within social cognition.

Aims

The current study assessed whether the race-IAT was related to other commonly used individual difference measures of implicit (and explicit) social cognition. Experiment 1 assessed whether dissociable patterns of performance on the race-IAT were related to measures of implicit imitative tendencies, emotion recognition and perspective taking toward White task actors, as well as explicit measures of trait and state affective empathy and racial bias. Overcoming limitations of task conceptual correspondence, Experiment 2 assessed whether these latter tasks were sensitive in detecting racial biases by using both White and Black task actors and again examined their relationships with the race-IAT.

Method

In two lab-based experiments, 226 and 237 participants completed the race-IAT followed by an extensive battery of social cognition measures.

Results

Across both experiments, pro-White/anti-Black bias on the race-IAT was positively related to a pro-White bias on explicit measures of positive affective empathy. However, relationships between the race-IAT and implicit imitative tendencies, perspective taking, emotion recognition, and explicit trait and negative state affective empathy were statistically equivalent.

Conclusion

The race-IAT was consistently related to explicit measures of positive state affective empathy but not to other individual difference measures of implicit social cognition. These findings are discussed with regards to the theoretical underpinnings of the race-IAT as an individual difference measure of implicit social cognition, as well as alternative explanations relating to the reliability of social cognition measures and the various combinations of general-purpose (social and non-social) executive processes that underpin performance on these tasks.

Age-related differences in interference control in the context of a finger-lifting task: an fMRI study

Humans tend to automatically imitate others and their actions while also being able to control such imitative tendencies. Interference control, necessary to suppress own imitative tendencies, develops rapidly in childhood and adolescence, plateaus in adulthood and slowly declines with advancing age. It remains to be shown though which neural processes underpin these differences across the lifespan. In a cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging study with three age groups (adolescents (ADs) 14-17 years, young adults (YAs) 21-31, older adults (OAs) 56-76, N = 91 healthy female participants), we investigated the behavioral and neural correlates of interference control in the context of automatic imitation using the finger-lifting task. ADs showed the most efficient interference control, while no significant differences emerged between YAs and OAs, despite OAs showing longer reaction times. On the neural level, all age groups showed engagement of the right temporoparietal junction, right supramarginal gyrus and bilateral insula, aligning well with studies previously using this task. However, our analyses did not reveal any age-related differences in brain activation, neither in these nor in other areas. This suggests that ADs might have a more efficient use of the engaged brain networks and, on the other hand, OAs' capacity for interference control and the associated brain functions might be largely preserved.

Visible skin disease symptoms of another person reduce automatic imitation of their hand movements

Imitation is an important mechanism for social interaction and learning, and humans tend to imitate others automatically. While imitating others is often useful, it can backfire when imitation is incongruent with one's goals. For example, in forced-choice reaction time tasks, this tendency results in a reliable slowing of reactions if the observed and self-initiated actions are incompatible (compatibility effect). While imitation is commonly explained as a social phenomenon, previous results on the compatibility effect's dependence on social cues are inconsistent. However, in many previous studies, the associated social cues were easy to ignore by the participants. To make the social modifier more salient, the current study manipulated emotionally relevant aspects of the model hand itself in an imitation inhibition task by using models displaying skin disease symptoms which we expected to elicit (1) perceptions of dissimilarity and (2) disgust in participants. As predicted, participants' (n = 63) reaction times were influenced more by the incompatible actions of the symptom-free than the symptomatic model hand. However, both levels of self-reported disgust toward and self-other overlap with symptomatic hands were low and did not account for the observed effect on automatic imitation. Our findings show that automatic imitation depends on social factors if these are an integral part of the model and processed quickly, presumably due to their affective salience or the salience of the self-other distinction. Whether this effect is driven by emotional reactions to the model remains an open question.

A high-density EEG investigation into the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying differences between personality profiles in social information processing

This study investigated whether differences between personality styles in the processing of social stimuli reflect variability in underlying general-purpose or social-specific neurocognitive mechanisms. Sixty-five individuals classified previously into two distinct personality profiles underwent high-density electroencephalography whilst performing tasks that tap into both aspects of cognitive processing - namely, two distinct facets of general-purpose response inhibition (interference resolution and action withholding) during social information processing. To determine the stage of processing at which personality differences manifest, we assessed event-related components associated with the early visual discrimination of social stimuli (N170, N190) and later more general conflict-related processes (N2, P3). Although a performance index of interference resolution was comparable between the personality profiles, differences were detected in action withholding. Specifically, individuals expressing a wider repertoire of personality styles and more adaptive emotion regulation performed significantly better at withholding inappropriate actions to neutral faces presented in emotional contexts compared with those exhibiting stronger preferences for fewer and less adaptive personality styles and more ruminative affective tendencies. At the neurophysiological level, however, difference between the profiles was observed in brain responses elicited to the same stimuli within the N170. These results indicate that neural processes related to early visual discrimination might contribute to differences in the suppression of inappropriate responses towards social stimuli in populations with different personality dispositions.

Socio-cognitive training impacts emotional and perceptual self-salience but not self-other distinction

Training to inhibit imitative tendencies has been shown to reduce self-other interferences in both automatic imitation and perspective taking, suggesting that an enhancement of self-other distinction is transferrable from the motor to the cognitive domain. This study examined whether socio-cognitive training specifically enhances self-other distinction, or rather modulates self-salience, that is, the relative attentional priority of information pertaining to the self-perspective over information pertaining to the other person's perspective. Across two experiments, participants trained on one day to either imitate, inhibit imitation, inhibit control stimuli, or they were imitated. On the following day they completed a visuo-tactile affective perspective-taking paradigm measuring both self-other distinction and emotional self-salience, and a shape matching paradigm measuring perceptual self-salience. Results indicate no significant or consistent impact of training on self-other distinction performance, but reveal an increased emotional and perceptual self-salience following training to inhibit imitative tendencies. Together, these findings raise the question whether socio-cognitive training improves performance via enhanced self-other distinction, and invite to consider self-salience as a complementary angle to explain the past, present, and future findings on self-other distinction.

Imitation or Polarity Correspondence? Behavioural and Neurophysiological Evidence for the Confounding Influence of Orthogonal Spatial Compatibility on Measures of Automatic Imitation

During social interactions, humans tend to imitate one another involuntarily. To investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms driving this tendency, researchers often employ stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) tasks to assess the influence that action observation has on action execution. This is referred to as automatic imitation (AI). The stimuli used frequently in SRC procedures to elicit AI often confound action-related with other nonsocial influences on behaviour; however, in response to the rotated hand-action stimuli employed increasingly, AI partly reflects unspecific up-right/down-left biases in stimulus-response mapping. Despite an emerging awareness of this confounding orthogonal spatial-compatibility effect, psychological and neuroscientific research into social behaviour continues to employ these stimuli to investigate AI. To increase recognition of this methodological issue, the present study measured the systematic influence of orthogonal spatial effects on behavioural and neurophysiological measures of AI acquired with rotated hand-action stimuli in SRC tasks. In Experiment 1, behavioural data from a large sample revealed that complex orthogonal spatial effects exert an influence on AI over and above any topographical similarity between observed and executed actions. Experiment 2 reproduced this finding in a more systematic, within-subject design, and high-density electroencephalography revealed that electrocortical expressions of AI elicited also are modulated by orthogonal spatial compatibility. Finally, source localisations identified a collection of cortical areas sensitive to this spatial confound, including nodes of the multiple-demand and semantic-control networks. These results indicate that AI measured on SRC procedures with the rotated hand stimuli used commonly might reflect neurocognitive mechanisms associated with spatial associations rather than imitative tendencies.

Intentional synchronisation affects automatic imitation and source memory

Acting in synchrony is a fundamental part of many social interactions and can have pro-social consequences. Explanations for this relationship were investigated here using implicit measures of imitation (automatic imitation task) and memory (preference overlap task). In Study 1, participants performed an intentional synchronisation task where they moved sliders in or out of time with another person while a third person observed. Those who had moved in synchrony showed a stronger tendency to imitate their partner’s actions than those who had moved in a non-synchronous way. Similarly, coordinated partners were also more likely to share object preferences. Results also showed that rather than memory blurring between co-actors, participants had improved memories for the self. Study 2 exchanged intentional for incidental coordination (coordinating with a synchronous metronome). None of the findings from Study 1 replicated when synchronisation was incidental rather than intentional, suggesting that having a shared goal may be critical for triggering effects of synchronisation on imitation tendencies and memory. Together these findings favour explanations related to changes in social categorisation over representational overlap between co-actors.

Conditional effects of gaze on automatic imitation: the role of autistic traits

Establishing direct gaze has been shown to enhance the tendency to automatically imitate the other person's actions, an effect that seems to be reduced in autism. Most previous studies, however, used experimental tasks that may have confounded the measurement of automatic imitation with spatial compatibility effects. This calls into question whether gaze cues regulate automatic imitation, or instead affect domain-general processes of response inhibition. Using a task that disentangled imitative from spatial compatibility effects, the current study re-examined the role of autistic traits on the modulation of automatic imitation by direct and averted gaze cues. While our results do not provide evidence for an overall significant influence of gaze on neither automatic imitation nor spatial compatibility, autistic traits were predictive of a reduced inhibition of imitative behaviour following averted gaze. Nonetheless, exploratory analyses suggested that the observed modulation by autistic traits may actually be better explained by the effects of concomitant social anxiety symptoms. In addition, the ethnicity of the imitated agent was identified as another potential modulator of the gaze effects on automatic imitation. Overall, our findings highlight the contextual nature of automatic imitation, but call for a reconsideration of the role of gaze on imitative behaviour.

Challenges and opportunities for top-down modulation research in cognitive psychology

Studying social modulation of cognitive processes holds much promise for illuminating how, where, when and why social factors influence how we perceive and act in the world, as well as providing insight into the underlying cognitive mechanisms. This is no small objective; it reflects an ambitious programme of research. At present, based on the modal theoretical and methodological approach, we suggest that several challenges exist to achieving such lofty aims. These challenges span an overreliance on a simplistic dichotomy between "top-down" and "bottom-up" modulation, a lack of specificity about mechanisms that renders clear interpretations difficult, and theories that largely test against null hypotheses. We suggest that these challenges present several opportunities for new research and we encourage the field to abandon simplistic dichotomies and connect much more with existing research programmes such as semantics, memory and attention, which have all built diverse research platforms over many decades and that can help shape how social modulation is conceptualised and studied from a cognitive and brain perspective. We also outline ways that stronger theoretical positions can be taken, which avoid comparing to null hypotheses, and endorse methodological reform through fully embracing proposals from the open science movement and "credibility revolution". We feel that by taking these opportunities, the field will have a better chance of reaching its potential to build a cumulative science of social modulation that can inform understanding of basic cognitive and brain systems, as well as real-life social interactions and the varied abilities observed across the Autism Spectrum.