Synopses & Reviews
A full understanding of the biology and behavior of humans cannot be complete without the collective contributions of the social sciences, cognitive sciences, and neurosciences. This book collects eighty-two of the foundational articles in the emerging discipline of social neuroscience.
The book addresses five main areas of research: multilevel integrative analyses of social behavior, using the tools of neuroscience, cognitive science, and social science to examine specific cases of social interaction; the relationships between social cognition and the brain, using noninvasive brain imaging to document brain function in various social situations; rudimentary biological mechanisms for motivation, emotion, and attitudes, and the shaping of these mechanisms by social factors; the biology of social relationships and interpersonal processes; and social influences on biology and health.
Review
This excellent book will no doubt result in new directions for studies of the mind and the brain, bridging the social, biological and psychological aspects of human behavior. The MIT Press
Review
One of the most exciting frontiers of knowledge is how social behavior depends upon the brain and, at the same time, how social context and social behavior exert powerful effects on brain function. Unfortunately the gulf between neuroscience and understandings of the social world remains enormous. Cacioppo and colleagues have performed a great service with this volume by documenting the importance of crossing this gulf and highlighting significant ways in which it can be done. Kenneth Hugdahl, Professor of Biological Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway
Review
This book superbly captures the immense excitement that many in the brain, cognitive, and social sciences feel about prospect of unraveling the secrets of the human mind. The benefits of this agenda for mankind will be enormous. Anyone interested in the direction this work is taking will enjoy reading this comprehensive collection of essays. Steven E. Hyman, Provost, Harvard University, and Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Review
"Successful third editions of large reference works must be reliable sources for their field, and Gazzaniga's *The Cognitive Neurosciences* certainly is, authored by a remarkable group of contributors. But this book is far more: it is full of exciting chapters touching on such newly important fields as adult neurogenesis, and it embraces controversy where appropriate. In my view, this already superb text has only gotten better."--Steven E. Hyman, Provost, Harvard University, and Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School The MIT Press
Review
"Neuroscientists and social scientists are on a converging course as both now seek a brain-based understanding of human behaviors. This wonderful book captures the excitement and promise of this important multidisciplinary endeavor, while serving as an important resource for information on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead."--Marcus E. Raichle, Professor of Radiology and Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine The MIT Press
Synopsis
A comprehensive survey of the growing field of social neuroscience.
About the Author
John T. Cacioppo is Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Psychology, Director of the Social Psychology Program, and Co-Director of the Institute for Mind and Biology at the University of Chicago.Gary G. Berntson is Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics at Ohio State University.C. Sue Carter is Professor of Psychiatry and Codirector of the Brain Body Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.Richard J. Davidson is the William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin. He is coeditor of Brain Asymmetry (MIT Press, 1994) and Foundations in Social Neuroscience (MIT Press, 2001).