Social and Affective Neuroscience

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Give an account of the methods and questions motivating the emergent discipline of social and affective neuroscience
• Evaluate how cognitive neuroscience methods contributed to our understanding of neural as well as mental processes involved in social situations
• Give accounts of key experiments and findings in each topic area
• Describe typical challenges researchers in the field face and ways to address them

The module will cover the following topics;

• An introduction to social and affective neuroscience (history, methods, & neuroanatomy)
• Critical thinking in social and affective neuroscience
• Theory of mind
• Empathy
• Social pain
• Social reward and neuroeconomics
• Social influence and neuromarketing
• Prejudice and stereotype
• Basic and social emotions
• Self
• Aggression and prosocial behaviour

Weekly lectures will introduce each topic, which is followed by student-led seminars in which students will present assigned readings and lead class discussion in groups of about 2-3.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.