Every day, we compare ourselves to others, both in person and increasingly online. Am I smarter than my friend? Am I nicer or friendlier? Such judgments require a type of “social reasoning” – first rating yourself and your friends and then making a comparison. Among adolescents, this type of thinking is even more common, with […]
Eye Gaze and Turn Taking in Aphasia Patients
In every conversation you have, there is an unspoken code – a set of social rules that guide you. When to stop talking, where to look, when to listen and when to talk… While scientists have long understood this turn-taking behavior, less known has been what affects this ability in patients with aphasia, a disorder […]
Conformity Can Be Good for Your Eating Habits
Cookie or apple? Many of us would choose the cookie if we were by ourselves. But what about around others? If you have ever been at, say, a conference where you see many of your peers choosing an apple, you might choose one as well. New research suggests that this behavioral change also happens on […]
Running that Red Light? The Complex Drivers of Teenage Risk
You’ve been stuck in traffic forever and are waiting in a long lineup at a red light. The light finally turns green and you start slowly moving, only to find that the light turns yellow as soon as you approach the intersection. Do you go for it and run the yellow (or maybe red!), or […]
Social Priorities: We Rapidly Process Communicative Cues
A smile, a wave, a head nod – seemingly small communicative gestures are of vital importance even for babies. And new research finds that the brain processes these social cues faster than previously thought, as quickly as 70 milliseconds. The finding gives insight into the brain’s priorities that may further understanding of both typical and […]
Why It’s So Tough for People in Power to Truly Feel Your Pain
I feel your pain. These words are famously associated with Bill Clinton, who as a politician seemed to ooze empathy. A skeptic might wonder, though, whether such a powerful figure really was personally distressed by the suffering of average Americans. Can people in high positions of power — be they presidents, bosses, celebrities and so […]
Copy That: When We’re More Likely to Imitate People Than Robots
When we are around different people, our behavior changes. Some of it is intentional – like talking about things you have in common – but much of it happens spontaneously without us even realizing it, such as folding your arms or scratching your nose when others do the same. But what about around robotic or […]
Changing Children’s Cognitive Abilities Through Targeted Interventions
CNS 2014 Blog Our cognitive fates are not sealed – that was a powerful message that came out yesterday from a session on developmental cognitive neuroscience at the CNS meeting in Boston. In four talks, speakers laid out new ways neuroscience findings can help children learn, even if they are experiencing challenges because of a […]
The Social Circuits that Track How We Like People and Ideas
CNS 2014 Press Release Boston – April 7, 2014 – Whether at the office, dorm, PTA meeting, or any other social setting, we all know intuitively who the popular people are – who is most liked – even if we can’t always put our finger on why. That information is often critical to professional or […]
Our Visual World is Not Fact: Our Highly Flexible View of Race, Gender, Emotion, and More
CNS 2014 Blog Part 2 of 2 about the role of social context in how we see people We all know that long-held cultural stereotypes influence how we evaluate and interact with others. But what about how we actually – visually – see people? New research, for the first time, shows that stereotypes change how […]
