Issues in Social Neuroscience
Psychology: AQA A Level, topic 11.1.17
Important Issues in Social Neuroscience
Social neuroscience is the combination of social psychology and neuroscience, which is the biological study of behaviour. With new technologies, this field has flourished in recent years, and had profound effects on our understanding of human behaviour.
Interdiscipline
- Both the biological approach to psychology and the social approach are valid ways of studying human behaviour.
- Social neuroscience is interdisciplinary which allows for methods, techniques, concepts and theories from both approaches to aid one another.
- For example, the biological technique of using electrodes led to the discovery of mirror neurons, which may lead to a better understanding of complex social behaviour in humans.
Methodology
- Techniques used in social sciences (like observation, questionnaires, interviews) can be cross-linked with biological data collected from fMRIs and EEGs.
- A simplistic example of this could be observing the development of a maternal bond between mother and child while mapping the regions of the brain responsible for developing social connections.
Social cognition
- Social cognition (how people process and apply information in social situations) is becoming better understood.
- For example, theory of mind can be used to explain the development of empathy.
- You could argue that empathy is crucial in maintaining well-being in society.
Ethics
- Finally, one of the most controversial aspects of social neuroscience is the ethical issues raised by using animals in studies.
- For example, De Pellegrino et al. (1992) inserted electrodes into macaque monkeys.