Modeling the Social Mind: Cognitive Representations of Dyadic Relationships

The social mind is a cognitive representation of networks of dyadic relationships, and social cognition must be sufficiently accurate to manage interpersonal and ecological demands. We used an idiographic (within-person) research design and social relations analysis to statistically model cognitive representations of dyadic relationships in 4 studies that included 310 participants (called key persons) who nominated 1,860 family members and 1,860 friends. Nominees did not participate. Key persons assessed their interpersonal relationships with nominees, nominees’ relationships with them, and nominees’ relationships with one another. Idiographic social relations modeling (SRM) of assessments conformed to nomothetic (between-people) SRM results suggesting accuracy of cognitive representations; however, key persons vary in perceptions of dyadic relationships. An egocentric bias emerged in all studies; key persons evaluated dyadic relationships of which they were a part more positively than relationships not including them. Egocentric bias was stronger among friends than in families. Study 4 established a theoretical boundary for egocentric bias. Three principles characterize the social mind. (1) Idiographic SRM assessments of dyadic relationships conform to nomothetic SRM findings. (2) People perceive dyadic relationships as balanced and reciprocal. However, the strength of perceived reciprocity is substantially stronger than in nomothetic research. (3) Egocentric bias is a positive illusion probably enhancing self-perception. This research offers a new method for studying the structure of the human social mind and links it to related work with other species.