Figure 2.

Levels of organization proposed by David Marr to understand information processing systems. This framework is adopted for social functions in this illustration [51]. The computational level (top) encompasses the ultimate goal of the process. For example, calculating financial transactions is the goal of a cash register (left) or engaging in cooperative social behaviors is the goal of certain brains areas. The algorithmic level (middle) is the logical processes by which this goal is accomplished. For a cash register to tally purchases, it must perform arithmetic (left), while social brain regions such as the amygdala may utilize a “common currency” coding schema, or multidimensional processing (right). Finally, these processes must be realized at the implementational level (bottom). In a cash register, the actual arithmetic is performed by a mechanical counting system (left), while different areas, circuits, or cells work together to process information (right).