Social cognition (MOOC)
Duration
Approximately 13 hours to complete, 3 weeks at 4 hours per week
Flexible schedule, learn at your own pace.
Level
Beginners.
Recommended experience: Basic principles in psychology or neuroscience.
Teaching team
Description
Welcome to our online course on social cognition! If you are interested in understanding the mental processes involved in human social interactions, then this is the course for you.
In this MOOC, we will explore different aspects of social cognition in depth, including the origin of the social brain, social perception and theory of mind. We will also look at how the social context can influence the cognitive system.
- What secrets does our brain reveal when it interacts with others?
- What are the processes that enable us to spot knowledge in a crowded café or in a crowd?
- What is the key to understanding the intentions and emotions of others? How can we put ourselves in their shoes?
- Why is the notion of Self the basis of our understanding of others?
- How important are parent-child bonds of attachment in building solid social relationships?
- How does our culture change the way we see the world and the people around us?
Whether you are a student, researcher or simply curious about the field of social psychology, this course will provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to answer these questions.
Through a combination of theoretical explanations and concrete examples, you will be able to understand how the underlying mental processes influence our social behaviour.
Through an interactive teaching approach and a variety of activities and exercises, you will be able to apply your new knowledge to real-life situations, which will help you to better grasp the concepts developed in the course and strengthen your understanding of social cognition.
Join us now and discover how social cognition shapes our experience of life in society and how you can use this knowledge to better understand yourself and others.
Chapters
What are the differences between humans and animals? How can we explain the origin of our social intelligence? In this module, you will discover the exciting field of social neuroscience and its research context. You will learn more about the origins of the social brain in humans and animals. Finally, we will look at the different techniques used in social neuroscience to give you a better overall understanding of the course.
How can our brains recognise members of our species? How can we understand the intentions of others? In this module, you will discover how human beings recognise their fellow creatures and interpret their looks. You will deepen your understanding of the inferences we can draw from faces and eyes. Finally, we will examine together how human beings use their gaze to understand the intentions of others.
How can we understand others just by looking at them? What is theory of mind and how does it work? In this module, we will explore reasoning about mental states and theory of mind. We will also look at similar concepts such as empathy and their nuances. Finally, we will look at the impact of autism on social cognition.
How is our identity forged and what does the concept of self consist of? The self-concept is made up of multiple facets that you will discover in this module, such as agentivity, embodiment, memory and pain. Certain disorders can also affect the self-concept, giving us a better understanding of this complex phenomenon.
How do we interact with others? What happens when we develop relationships of friendship, love or simply attachment to other people? In this module, we will explore the mechanisms of attachment between parents and children, as well as in adults. We will study the notions of love, friendship and exclusion, and then look at the mechanisms of cooperation and social decision-making.
Where does culture come from? What is the link between culture and the social brain? Do species other than humans share a form of culture? In this module, you will discover intercultural differences from the perspective of social cognition. You will learn about the importance of cultural context in the perception of faces and gaze, in the construction of identity and in social decision-making processes.
Links
Coursera : https://www.coursera.org/learn/cognition-sociale