Research: The objective of Social Cognition group is to gain a better understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying our ability to understand and respond to non-verbal social signals emitted by others. It is motivated by the insight that the human brain is a “social brain” enabling human beings to communicate and collaborate with many other individuals and to handle complex relationships. We combine several approaches, psychological (self-report questionnaires), behavioral (performances and reactions times, decision-making models), psychophysiological (such as skin conductance) and neuroimaging techniques (fMRI and EEG). 

The team has three main ongoing projects:

• EMOTIVA: We dive into how perceived social cues motivate purposeful actions, crucial for navigating social demands. This has clinical implications, as many psychiatric and neurological disorders involve significant social functioning impairments.

• CAT: We study the cognitive mechanisms driving collective emotions and their impact on social bonding, collective actions, and art appreciation, contributing to the understanding of human cognition and social interactions in large groups. 

• SO-BIAS: We address biased social judgments—behavioral differences based on group membership or appearance—which have harmful effects on society. Our aim is to understand the mechanisms behind these intergroup biases in individual decisions.