In my last blog post I wrote about social neuroscience and the SCARF theory, which explains social behavior based on our brain principle known as ‘threat and reward response’. The theory posits that within social interactions our experience is influenced either by perceived threat or reward in one or several of five domains: status, certainty,…

Let’s start with a short mental exercise… Please try to remember and note down (for the sake of further discussion here) a recent social situation, be it at work, in your family or during leisure time, when you felt slightly concerned, worried or annoyed (e.g., your boss gave you critical feedback). Now, let’s do the…

As the rally for the U.S. presidency continues, Trump continues his anti-immigrant rhetoric, arguing that illegal immigrants, referring mostly to Mexican immigrants, take away jobs from struggling America’s poor. Naturally, such sentiments built upon fear and a perception of scarce resources may work well with less informed or frustrated and worrying individuals, as we have…