Speaker
Steven Samuel is a cognitive psychologist whose interests include language (particularly bilingualism), perspective taking ('theory of mind'), and cognitive representation (how we code in our heads things that exist outside of our minds). Dr Samuel completed his PhD at the University of Essex before taking up research roles at the universities of Stockholm, Cambridge, and then again at Essex. Steven joined City following a lectureship at the University of Plymouth.
Description
Perspective taking, whether in the classic 'Theory of Mind' sense or in the more perceptual domain (e.g. visual perspective taking) has long been considered a cornerstone of social cognition. Recent years have given rise to new research threads, such as 'spontaneous' perspective taking, perceptual simulation (quasi-perceptual experiences of others' perceptual input), and embodied or 'grounded' processes, particularly in spatial perspective taking paradigms. In this talk Steven will present evidence for or against each of these hypotheses, and highlight the increasingly clear importance of individual differences over traditional domain-specific arguments.