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As human beings we are inherently social creatures. From birth, we forge an array of social connections with one another and then form intimate personal relationships within complex societal networks. Our survival and well-being critically depend on social interaction with others.

Social neuroscience is the study of the biological mechanisms that subserve these incredibly rich social interactions. It is premised on the idea that articulating the biological, cognitive, and social levels of analysis contribute to more comprehensive explanations of human mind and behavior. While higher order meta-cognitive processes affect how we consciously operate and intentionally influence our functioning, automatic and unconscious mechanisms account for much more of social interaction than we intuit. Furthermore, we cannot understand human social behavior without reference to evolutionary principles. Many aspects of our bodies, mind, and societies need to be appreciated as products of evolution, just like any other species.

In the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (SCNL) at the University of Chicago, we investigate the core of dynamic interpersonal experience – how emotion and subjective feelings about others and self are represented in the brain and manifested in social interaction. Our research focuses on interpersonal processes including empathy, sympathy, perspective-taking, shared mental representations, emotion regulation, intersubjectivity, and self-agency. These aspects of human social communication are fundamental to interpersonal interaction and subsequently serve as the foundation for all of human culture. It is our conviction that a better understanding of intersubjectivity andrelated emotions is fostered by integrative analyses that span the biological and social levels of organization.

Such an integrated approach also has the potential for generating new hypotheses concerning social cognitive disorders and aid our understanding and treatment of abnormal human social behavior. Various psychopathologies are marked by interpersonal sensitivity deficits. The clinical imperative is to understand the factors that lead to these conditions, uncover what neural and biological mechanisms may underlie these deficits, and hence contribute to better treatment and intervention. Projects in the SCNL explore dysfunctions in the biopsychological mechanisms underpining social information processing in individuals with personality disorders including antisocial behavior and conduct disorder.

Dr. Jean Decety, Head of the Lab.

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