What Makes Us Social?

A  deep dive into the social mind-brain, examining the processes we share  with other social animals and illuminating those that are uniquely  human.

What Makes Us Social? is a scholarly but  accessible exploration of the underlying processes that make humans the  most social species on the planet. Chris and Uta Frith, pioneers in the  field of cognitive neuroscience, review the many forms of social  behavior that we humans share with other animals and examine the special  form that only humans possess, including its dark side. These uniquely  human abilities allow us to reflect on our behavior and share these  reflections with other people, which in turn enables us to reason why we  do things and to exert some control over our automatic behaviors. As a  result, we can learn cooperatively with others and create and value  cultural artifacts that survive through the generations.

Going  beyond how we come to know ourselves and understand the mind of others,  Frith and Frith investigate how we adapt mutually to make social  interactions work. This book stands out in its application of a  computational framework—one that lies at the intersection of psychology  and artificial intelligence—to key concepts of social cognition, such as  empathy, trust, group identity, and reputation management. Ultimately,  What Makes Us Social? is a profound examination of the ways we  communicate, cooperate, share, and compete with other humans and how  these capabilities define us as a species.