The Moral & Social Brain lab has been created and is currently led by Prof. Dr. Emilie A. Caspar (Ghent University, Belgium). Our main mission is to uncover the neural basis of (im)moral behaviors. To do so, we seek to understand how humans take agency and responsibility over their actions and how they perceive and feel the pain that they could cause to others. The sense of agency is an incredible ability for humans, probably one that allowed us to achieve critical steps in our development across human history. More than any other animals, humans have transformed and built their environment because they can take credits for their accomplishments. When we perform actions, we are able to recognize these actions as our owns and to take responsibility over the consequences of those actions because we experience agency. The sense of agency and the feeling of responsibility are thus critical neuro-cognitive processes associated with our decisions to act in a « good » or « bad » way. Empathy is also an incredible capacity for shaping and coloring our social interactions as it allows us to understand how others feel. Understanding the feeling of others is of course also shaped by both environmental factors, such as our culture, education or life experiences, and contextual factors. But first and foremost, our capacity to empathize with others is wired deep inside our brains. Empathy is primarily an inner capacity that all humans supposedly possess and which prevent us to hurt others, be it emotionally or physically.

We also study the consequences of immoral actions. Following a genocide, a war, or any dramatic conflict or event, desolation is often what remains. The surviving victims grapple with psychological trauma and, in some cases, permanent physical disabilities. This trauma also extends to their relatives who, witnessing the suffering of their loved ones, may feel powerless to help. It can even pass on to their children and grandchildren, who may inherit the sequela of their parents’ trauma both through genetics and social transmission. Even those who perpetrated these actions, perhaps claiming reduced responsibility in an attempt to escape legal repercussions, are unlikely to avoid the psychological repercussions. They must confront the mental toll of their actions or orders, potentially experiencing post-traumatic stress, guilt, and shame. These feelings can contribute to long-term mental health issues. Our research thus extends to understanding how both affective and non-affective brain alterations can persist years after such traumatic events, and how they may influence subsequent generations in terms of their mental health and prejudiced attitudes towards others.

Our current works include the following research questions:

What neuro-cognitive mechanisms play a role in preventing individuals from complying with immoral orders?

Can we develop efficient tools to reduce radicalized behaviors and prejudice attitudes?

What are the neural basis of the sense of agency, of the feeling of responsibility and of the feeling of guilt?

Can brain-to-brain synchrony predict prosocial attitudes?

How does being in prison impact neuro-cognitive processes involved in decision-making?

How is a trauma due to a genocide transferred to the next generation individuals and how does it impact social cognition?

Our research methods are rooted in cognitive and social neurosciences, utilizing a combination of EEG, (f)MRI, and behavioral measurements. However, we do not limit our methodologies solely to neuroscience and cognitive psychology. We highly value interdisciplinarity in addressing our research questions and currently collaborate with researchers from a wide range of scientific disciplines, including Sociology, Philosophy, Social Psychology, Engineering, Robotics, Law, and Criminology. Owing to the high societal relevance of our work, our collaborations extend beyond academia. We actively partner with NGOs, international and local associations, as well as policymakers, such as the Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation, Prison Fellowship Rwanda, Breaking The Silence, and the Documentation Center Cambodia. We firmly believe that this fusion of interdisciplinary research and collaboration with both academic and non-academic institutions is instrumental in creating meaningful scientific approaches and gaining a comprehensive understanding of the societal, historical, and human contexts surrounding our projects.

In addition to uncovering the neural basis of (im)moral behaviors, another mission of our lab is to extend neuroscience research to populations often overlooked by the field. Traditionally in neuroscience, we test what are known as ‘WEIRD’ participants (i.e., those who are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic), primarily in Europe or North America. This approach, however, leaves us with limited insight into whether the theories we formulate apply to diverse populations, particularly since we know that culture can shape our brains. Therefore, in our lab, we strive to collaborate with populations often disregarded in neuroscience, aiming to gain a more comprehensive understanding of human cognition and behavior. Some of our projects involve working with groups such as inmates, military personnel, former perpetrators and survivors of the genocides in Rwanda and Cambodia. Engaging with such populations presents not only a profoundly human experience, but also an invaluable opportunity for advancing neuroscience research.

If you are interested in our research topics, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for a Ph.D. thesis or a Postdoc or scientific collaborations and join the adventure!

Facilities

The Moral & Social Brain lab is equipped to integrate research in humans but also to conduct field research across the world. For this purpose, the lab has the following equipment:

Portable EEG systems (adapted to hyperscanning recordings as well)
3T-MRI scanner
tDCS/TMS

Selected publications

Caspar, E.A., Lo Bue, S., Magalhaes De Saldanha da Gama, P.A., Haggard, P., & Cleeremans A. (2020). The effect of military training on the sense of agency and outcome processing. Nature Communications, 11(1), 1-10. (IF=11.880).

Caspar, E.A., Ioumpa, K., Keysers, C. & Gazzola, V. (2020). Obeying orders reduces vicarious brain activation towards victims’ pain. NeuroImage, 117251. (IF=5.902).

Caspar, E.A., Christensen, J., Cleeremans, A., & Haggard P. (2016). Coercion changes the sense of agency in the human brain. Current Biology, 26, 585-592. (IF=8.851).

Caspar, E. A., Pech, G. P., Gishoma, D., & Kanazayire, C. (2022). On the impact of the genocide on the intergroup empathy bias between former perpetrators, survivors, and their children in Rwanda. American Psychologist. (IF=10.886). Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001066

Pech, G. P., Gishoma, D., & Caspar, E. A. (2023). A novel electroencephalography-based paradigm to measure intergroup prosociality: An intergenerational study in the aftermath of the genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

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