Research

This research line examines neural synchrony (inter-brain coherence) between dyads or groups holding contrasting positions on polarized issues such as climate change, political ideology, vaccine hesitancy, and economic policy. Using hyperscanning techniques (simultaneous fNIRS), we investigate:

• Whether neural synchronization correlates with the degree of opinion polarization

• If structured dialogue interventions can restore synchrony patterns associated with cooperation

• How shared neural signatures during communication predict willingness to find common ground

• The role of empathy networks and theory of mind regions in bridging ideological divides

We investigate how contextual factors—ranging from subtle framing effects to broad group manipulations—fundamentally alter cooperative and competitive decision-making. By systematically manipulating environmental, social, and informational contexts while measuring behavioral and neural responses, we investigate:

• When and why the same individual makes radically different strategic choices across social situations

• How contextual shifts modulate neural computations underlying value assignment and strategic reasoning in social interactions

• What contextual cues are sufficient to trigger reversals in competitive versus cooperative behavioral strategies.

This research line investigates how individuals' and groups' visions of the future—ranging from optimistic to catastrophic—influence their current decisions and behaviors regarding phenomena with delayed consequences, such as climate change, political polarization, democratic erosion, and social inequality. By examining the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying temporal discounting, future-oriented thinking, and apocalyptic versus utopian narratives, we explore:

• How different construals of future outcomes motivate or inhibit cooperative action in the present

• Whether collective future visions create shared neural representations that facilitate coordinated long-term action across ideologically diverse groups

• What psychological and narrative framings make future catastrophic outcomes feel sufficiently urgent to override immediate self-interest

• How exposure to competing future scenarios (utopian versus dystopian) shapes the temporal horizons individuals use when evaluating policy trade-offs