Social Neuroscience : Biological Approaches to Social Psychology

This volume provides overviews of cutting-edge research in social neuroscience that addresses some of the primary processes of interest to social psychologists. It showcases the theoretical and methodological diversity and depth of current research in the field, with chapters that represent a wide variety of approaches, including social, cognitive, clinical, personality, and evolutionary perspectives. The volume captures the excitement that permeates the field and provides an invaluable resource for upper-level courses and for anyone embarking on a social neuroscientific research program.

Social Neuroscience provides an updated and critically important survey of contemporary social neuroscience research. In response to recent advances in the field, this book speaks to the various ways that basic biological functions shape and underlie social behavior. The book also shows how an understanding of neuroscience, physiology, genetics, and endocrinology can foster a fuller, more consilient understanding of social behavior and of the person. These collected chapters cover traditional and contemporary social psychology topics that have received conceptual and empirical attention from social neuroscience approaches. While the focus of the chapters is demonstrating how social neuroscience methods contribute to understanding social psychological topics, they also cover a wide range of social neuroscience methods, including hormones, functional magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography, event-related brain potentials, cardiovascular responses, and genetics.