Social Mind Lab

Social Mind & Human Functioning Lab investigates how the human mind understands, predicts, and acts in the social world. We study the psychological and neural mechanisms of human sociality, focusing on how cooperation, morality, and prosocial behavior emerge from the human mind and shape social life and human functioning. Formerly the PNU Social Neuroscience Lab at Pusan National University, the lab is now based at Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea. Our research aims to uncover the psychological and neural mechanisms of human sociality by decoding socioemotional processes, identifying the neural basis of social behavior, developing quantitative behavioral and computational models, and explaining individual differences. Ultimately, we seek to understand how individuals and societies can function well, both individually and collectively. We adopt a multi-level, integrative approach to human behavior, examining social and emotional processes across neural, individual, and group levels of analysis. Our current research examines how the social mind shapes human behavior, focusing on positive social behaviors and positive socioemotional experiences that sustain a healthy society. We study cooperation, morality, and prosociality, as well as how situational and individual factors interact to guide social behavior and human functioning. Our research is guided by a set of core questions about the social mind and human behavior. Does helping others benefit the helper as well as the recipient? We investigate how prosocial behavior benefits both those who help and those who receive help, and how it contributes to physical health, psychological well-being, and social functioning. Our research investigates the psychological, neural, and immunological mechanisms underlying these effec