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An integrative cognitive neuroscience theory of social reasoning and moral judgment
Author(s) -
Barbey Aron K.,
Grafman Jordan
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: cognitive science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.526
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1939-5086
pISSN - 1939-5078
DOI - 10.1002/wcs.84
Subject(s) - social neuroscience , psychology , social cognition , prefrontal cortex , cognition , cognitive neuroscience , cognitive science , action (physics) , social decision making , neurolaw , social cognitive theory , theory of mind , neuroscience , cognitive psychology , social psychology , physics , quantum mechanics
Cognitive neuroscience has made considerable progress in understanding the involvement of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in social cognition and moral judgment. Accumulating evidence suggests that representations within the lateral PFC enable people to orchestrate their thoughts and actions in concert with their intentions to support goal‐directed social behavior. Despite the pivotal role of this region in guiding social interactions, remarkably little is known about the functional organization and forms of social knowledge mediated by the lateral PFC. Here, we review recent theoretical developments in evolutionary psychology and emerging evidence from the social and decision neuroscience literatures demonstrating the importance of the lateral PFC for orchestrating behavior on the basis of evolutionarily adaptive social norms for obligatory, prohibited, and permissible courses of action. WIREs Cogn Sci 2011 2 55–67 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.84 This article is categorized under: Psychology > Reasoning and Decision Making Neuroscience > Behavior