social cognitive neuroscience

Social cognitive neuroscience (SCN) is an interdisciplinary field that emerged in the early 21st century. It investigates topics traditionally studied by social psychologists, such as person perception, attitude change, and emotion regulation. SCN utilizes methods from cognitive neuroscience, including functional brain imaging (like fMRI) and the analysis of neuropsychological patients.1

By integrating these approaches, SCN aims to understand the interplay between social behavior, cognition, and the underlying brain mechanisms. This field also explores concepts like mirror neurons, which are brain cells activated both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing the same action. These neurons are thought to play a role in social behaviors such as empathy and imitation, potentially offering a mechanistic explanation for social cognition.12