Title: When bodies and traits collide: Investigating a "Who" system for social cognition
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde: How do I know who you are? The story of Jekyll and Hyde illuminates a fascinating problem for humans to solve: How do we link together features of a person, such as body shape and personality, in order to understand "who" somebody is? Although dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have the same physical appearance, they have distinctly different traits. The former is a well-respected surgeon who performs operations on anaesthetised patients, whereas the latter is a sadist who performs the same operations on unfortunate non-anaesthetised victims If we were to observe Jekyll or Hyde at work, it would not be sufficient to only take note of his physical appearance in order to make sense of his identity. Instead, we would need to consider his character and motivations (i.e., surgeon or sadist) in order to appreciate his real identity. The key aim of this project is to examine the brain systems that link physical features of a person with their traits. What is the background to the project? To date, neuroscience and psychology researchers have studied separately how we perceive others' body parts (e.g., arms, legs) and traits (e.g., kind, selfish). As such, it is not known how multiple features of a person (e.g., thin and kind) are linked together to understand their identity. The key aim of this project is to bring together expertise in neuroscience and social psychology to examine the brain systems that link physical features of a person with their traits. How will the project be completed? The project comprises a series of experiments organised into two parts. First, brain activity will be measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants observe images of other people and infer traits about them. For example, an image of a man will be presented alongside text stating "He gave his sister a hug", which implies the trait "friendly". Using conventional analyses I will show which brain regions link together bodies and traits. In addition, using innovative analyses, I will examine how these regions influence each other. For example, how do brain regions sensitive to trait inferences facilitate those involved in perceiving bodies? Also, how do brain regions involved in body perception influence the response of regions involved with trait inferences? The results will establish a neural model of how the human brain links bodies with traits. In the second part, I will test how this model breaks down when we perceive social "out-groups". Research in social psychology has shown that we treat members of society differently based on their social group. For example, homeless people and drug addicts receive a reduced status relative to other members of society. Further, individuals with racial biases towards their own race treat other races as "out-groups". The proposed work will test how the model outlined previously responds differently when perceiving such social out-groups. What are the implications of the research? The direct implication of the research is a deeper understanding of the neural bases of how we expect different members of society to behave and, subsequently, how we interact with them. By combining techniques from neuroscience and social psychology the proposal will build and test a model of how the human brain links together different features of a person in order to make sense of their identity. More broadly, the project addresses a key issue in contemporary society, namely, why is social cohesion so difficult to achieve? Examining how brain responses can be atypical for perceiving social out-groups will provide insight into the physiological basis for how we treat members of society. Due to the clear relevance for multicultural Britain, government bodies will be informed of the results of this research and a series of public lectures will be organised based on communicating what social neuroscience can tell people about multiculturalism and social cohesion.


Research activity codes: 1.1 NORMAL BIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTIONING;1.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC PROCESSES
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;NEUROLOGICAL