We study the relationships between emotions, social reasoning, decision-making, the brain, and autonomic physiology.
People respond differently to everyday situations that require decisions about whether to help or be helped by others. What factors in the environment, or in oneself, can change behavioral, physiological, and brain responses to social scenarios and decisions about giving and helping. We aim to advance the understanding of how emotions relate to changes in key brain networks, and how we might bias the brain towards a mode of functioning that features heightened capacity for well-being, meaningful decisions, and connection to other people in life.
With gratitude to the following funding initiatives:
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/expandinggratitude/