Frédérique de Vignemont: "Are we so egocentric after all?"

Lecture by Frédérique de Vignemont, Institut Jean Nicod, Paris, France.

Abstract:
In many circumstances we tend to assume that other people believe or desire what we ourselves believe or desire. This has been coined under the label of egocentric bias. One of the assets of the Simulation theory of mindreading and of the recent discovery of mirror neurons is the ability to explain egocentric bias. However, recent evidence seems to indicate the existence of what may be called allocentric bias: another's perspective can furtively intrude even when no reason seems to require it, or even when it is detrimental for us. But how does allocentric bias fit in simulation-based accounts of mindreading?