Normativity vs. uniqueness: effects of social relationship strength on neural representations of others.

Publisher: Oxford Journals, Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101288795 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1749-5024 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17495016 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Oxford, UK : Oxford Journals, Oxford University Press

Magnetic Resonance Imaging*/methods ; Social Perception* ; Brain Mapping* ; Brain*/physiology ; Brain*/diagnostic imaging ; Interpersonal Relations* ; Social Cognition*; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Adolescent

Understanding others involves inferring traits and intentions, a process complicated by our reliance on stereotypes and generalized information when we lack personal information. Yet, as relationships are formed, we shift toward nuanced and individualized perceptions of others. This study addresses how relationship strength influences the creation of unique or normative representations of others in key regions known to be involved in social cognition. Employing a round-robin interpersonal perception paradigm (N = 111, 20 groups of five to six people), we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether the strength of social relationships modulated the degree to which multivoxel patterns of activity that represented a specific other were similar to a normative average of all others in the study. Behaviorally, stronger social relationships were associated with more normative trait endorsements. Neural findings reveal that closer relationships lead to more unique representations in the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, areas associated with mentalizing and person perception. Conversely, more generalized representations emerge in posterior regions like the posterior cingulate cortex, indicating a complex interplay between individuated and generalized processing of social information in the brain. These findings suggest that cortical regions typically associated with social cognition may compute different kinds of information when representing the distinctiveness of others.
(© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

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Keywords: individuation; normative; person perception; social cognition; social relationship

Date Created: 20240625 Date Completed: 20240709 Latest Revision: 20240711

20240711

PMC11232616

10.1093/scan/nsae045

38915187