Social cognition

It was that mean child… or was it?

The typical idea of a bully is a mean child who wants to dominate their peers. However, understanding social interactions in this light only gives part of the story. We need more nuance in the discussion of bullying to find fitting solutions to different problems.

Neeltje van den Bedem • 28-02-2022

Can I ‘read’ your emotions in my body?

Have you ever felt a shiver or the pricking of tears when you see someone grieving about a dead loved one? “Feeling” others’ emotions does not only happen in our heads: it affects our entire bodies. But are those changes actually informative?

Julia Folz • 20-01-2022

Can video calls with friends replace real social encounters?

Meeting a friend in Covid-19 times has little to do with an intimate chat in a bar. Instead, video calls have become the new medium to share our innermost feelings. But can these moments of online face-to-face communication replace the ‘real’ offline experience?

Julia Folz • 26-02-2021

Understanding risk-taking in adolescence

Whether adolescence was relatively peaceful or full of teenage angst, none of us is likely to forget it. A special time in life, when we begin discovering who we might become, exploring possibilities and taking risks that accompany experimenting with life.

Kiki Zanolie • 02-04-2015

Blogs

It was that mean child… or was it?

Can I ‘read’ your emotions in my body?

Can video calls with friends replace real social encounters?

Understanding risk-taking in adolescence