Two Maps in the Mind: How the Brain Stores What We Know About Others

2025-06-26

How does your brain keep track of the people in your life—not just who they are, but where they are in relation to you and to each other? In this episode of Under the Cortex, Özge Gürcanlı Fischer-Baum talks with Robert Chavez from the University of Oregon about his new findings published in Psychological Science, the flagship journal of the Association for Psychological Science. His research shows that our brains rely on two separate systems to encode person-knowledge: one that maps others in th...

How does your brain keep track of the people in your life—not just who they are, but where they are in relation to you and to each other?

In this episode of Under the Cortex, Özge Gürcanlı Fischer-Baum talks with Robert Chavez from the University of Oregon about his new findings published in Psychological Science, the flagship journal of the Association for Psychological Science. His research shows that our brains rely on two separate systems to encode person-knowledge: one that maps others in the broader world (allocentric), and another that maps them in relation to ourselves (egocentric).

Together, these systems help us organize social memory and navigate our relationships with others. Tune in to learn how the brain structures our social world—and why it matters.

If you're interested in learning more about this research, visit psychologicalscience.org.

Send us your thoughts and questions at underthecortex@psychologicalscience.org.

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