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Thinking through others’ emotions: Incorporating the role of emotional state inference in thinking through other minds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2020

Ryan Smith
Affiliation:
Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK74136rsmith@laureateinstitute.org
Richard D. Lane
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85724. lane@psychiatry.arizona.edu

Abstract

The active inference framework offers an attractive starting point for understanding cultural cognition. Here, we argue that affective dynamics are essential to include when constructing this type of theory. We highlight ways in which interactions between emotional responses and the perception of those responses, both within and between individuals, can play central roles in both motivating and constraining sociocultural practices.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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