Recursive Theory of Mind during cooperative and competitive interactions in a social foraging task (B04)

• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 454648639

Theory of Mind (ToM) is a crucial capacity in social decision-making. The ensuing mental models of others allow for accurate action prediction of the other person (“I think that you will do X”). However, such mental models can become recursive, when they include what the other person thinks of ourselves (“I think that you think that I will do Y”). Here, we investigate such recursive ToM in the context of a novel social foraging task with rapid switches between cooperative and competitive interactions. We test the adaptivity of recursive ToM and its relative stability of across interactional context using computational modeling and EEG hyperscanning.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1528: Cognition of Interaction
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Head: Dr. Jan Gläscher