Our Brains at War

Book excerpt: "This chapter introduces people to the basics of what readers need to know about social psychology, i.e. the study of how people's feelings, ideas and behaviours are influenced by the presence of others. It also looks at the increasingly important bio/neural factors such as genes, brain structure and hormonal processes that are now being examined and understood as relevant to any study of human behaviour, including group conflicts. In addition, it provides a brief introduction to the various methodologies that are increasingly able to measure social behavior, such as fMRI, electroencephalography, DNA analysis and hormonal testing"--