Re-imaging the Intentional Stance

Overview

Journal Proc Biol Sci

Specialty Biology

Date 2020 Apr 16

PMID 32290800

Citations 5

Authors

Ahmad M Abu-Akel

Ian A Apperly

Stephen J Wood

Peter C Hansen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The commonly used paradigm to investigate Dennet's 'intentional stance' compares neural activation when participants compete with a human versus a computer. This paradigm confounds whether the opponent is natural or artificial and whether it is intentional or an automaton. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study is, to our knowledge, the first to investigate the intentional stance by orthogonally varying perceptions of the opponents' intentionality (responding actively or passively according to a script) and embodiment (human or a computer). The mere perception of the opponent (whether human or computer) as intentional activated the mentalizing network: the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) bilaterally, right temporal pole, anterior paracingulate cortex (aPCC) and the precuneus. Interacting with humans versus computers induced activations in a more circumscribed right lateralized subnetwork within the mentalizing network, consisting of the TPJ and the aPCC, possibly reflective of the tendency to spontaneously attribute intentionality to humans. The interaction between intentionality (active versus passive) and opponent (human versus computer) recruited the left frontal pole, possibly in response to violations of the default intentional stance towards humans and computers. Employing an orthogonal design is important to adequately capture Dennett's conception of the intentional stance as a mentalizing strategy that can apply equally well to humans and other intentional agents.

Citing Articles

The involvement of rTPJ in intention attribution during social decision making: A TMS study.

Panico F, Ferrara A, Sagliano L, Trojano L Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2024; 24(4):755-765.

PMID: 38689164 PMC: 11233285. DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01188-7.

Different models of anthropomorphism across cultures and ontological limits in current frameworks the integrative framework of anthropomorphism.

Spatola N, Marchesi S, Wykowska A Front Robot AI. 2022; 9:863319.

PMID: 36093211 PMC: 9452957. DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2022.863319.

Mind your step: social cerebellum in interactive navigation.

Li M, Pu M, Baetens K, Baeken C, Deroost N, Heleven E Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2022; 18(1).

PMID: 35866545 PMC: 9949501. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac047.

I Am Looking for Your Mind: Pupil Dilation Predicts Individual Differences in Sensitivity to Hints of Human-Likeness in Robot Behavior.

Marchesi S, Bossi F, Ghiglino D, Tommaso D, Wykowska A Front Robot AI. 2021; 8:653537.

PMID: 34222350 PMC: 8249729. DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2021.653537.

Re-imaging the intentional stance.

Abu-Akel A, Apperly I, Wood S, Hansen P Proc Biol Sci. 2020; 287(1925):20200244.

PMID: 32290800 PMC: 7211435. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0244.

References

Hynes C, Baird A, Grafton S . Differential role of the orbital frontal lobe in emotional versus cognitive perspective-taking. Neuropsychologia. 2005; 44(3):374-83. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.06.011. View

Fuster J . The prefrontal cortex--an update: time is of the essence. Neuron. 2001; 30(2):319-33. DOI: 10.1016/s0896-6273(01)00285-9. View

Ma N, Vandekerckhove M, Van Overwalle F, Seurinck R, Fias W . Spontaneous and intentional trait inferences recruit a common mentalizing network to a different degree: spontaneous inferences activate only its core areas. Soc Neurosci. 2010; 6(2):123-38. DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2010.485884. View

Kircher T, Blumel I, Marjoram D, Lataster T, Krabbendam L, Weber J . Online mentalising investigated with functional MRI. Neurosci Lett. 2009; 454(3):176-81. DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.03.026. View

Hartwright C, Apperly I, Hansen P . Multiple roles for executive control in belief-desire reasoning: distinct neural networks are recruited for self perspective inhibition and complexity of reasoning. Neuroimage. 2012; 61(4):921-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.012. View

Ozdem C, Wiese E, Wykowska A, Muller H, Brass M, Van Overwalle F . Believing androids - fMRI activation in the right temporo-parietal junction is modulated by ascribing intentions to non-human agents. Soc Neurosci. 2016; 12(5):582-593. DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1207702. View

Kroger J, Nystrom L, Cohen J, Johnson-Laird P . Distinct neural substrates for deductive and mathematical processing. Brain Res. 2008; 1243:86-103. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2008.07.128. View

Chaminade T, Rosset D, Da Fonseca D, Nazarian B, Lutcher E, Cheng G . How do we think machines think? An fMRI study of alleged competition with an artificial intelligence. Front Hum Neurosci. 2012; 6:103. PMC: 3347624. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00103. View

Annett M . The distribution of manual asymmetry. Br J Psychol. 1972; 63(3):343-58. DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1972.tb01282.x. View

10.

Fukui H, Murai T, Shinozaki J, Aso T, Fukuyama H, Hayashi T . The neural basis of social tactics: An fMRI study. Neuroimage. 2006; 32(2):913-20. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.03.039. View

11.

Olson I, Plotzker A, Ezzyat Y . The Enigmatic temporal pole: a review of findings on social and emotional processing. Brain. 2007; 130(Pt 7):1718-31. DOI: 10.1093/brain/awm052. View

12.

Harvey P, Penn D . Social cognition: the key factor predicting social outcome in people with schizophrenia?. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010; 7(2):41-4. PMC: 2848464. View

13.

Takahashi H, Terada K, Morita T, Suzuki S, Haji T, Kozima H . Different impressions of other agents obtained through social interaction uniquely modulate dorsal and ventral pathway activities in the social human brain. Cortex. 2014; 58:289-300. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.03.011. View

14.

Mar R, Kelley W, Heatherton T, Neil Macrae C . Detecting agency from the biological motion of veridical vs animated agents. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2008; 2(3):199-205. PMC: 2569809. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsm011. View

15.

Schulte-Ruther M, Markowitsch H, Fink G, Piefke M . Mirror neuron and theory of mind mechanisms involved in face-to-face interactions: a functional magnetic resonance imaging approach to empathy. J Cogn Neurosci. 2007; 19(8):1354-72. DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2007.19.8.1354. View

16.

Stuss D, Gallup Jr G, Alexander M . The frontal lobes are necessary for 'theory of mind'. Brain. 2001; 124(Pt 2):279-86. DOI: 10.1093/brain/124.2.279. View

17.

Rilling J, Sanfey A, Aronson J, Nystrom L, Cohen J . The neural correlates of theory of mind within interpersonal interactions. Neuroimage. 2004; 22(4):1694-703. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.04.015. View

18.

Stanley J, Gowen E, Miall R . How instructions modify perception: an fMRI study investigating brain areas involved in attributing human agency. Neuroimage. 2010; 52(1):389-400. PMC: 2887490. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.04.025. View

19.

Samson D, Apperly I, Chiavarino C, Humphreys G . Left temporoparietal junction is necessary for representing someone else's belief. Nat Neurosci. 2004; 7(5):499-500. DOI: 10.1038/nn1223. View

20.

Berthoz S, Armony J, Blair R, Dolan R . An fMRI study of intentional and unintentional (embarrassing) violations of social norms. Brain. 2002; 125(Pt 8):1696-708. DOI: 10.1093/brain/awf190. View