Are we "wired for conflict?" Why do some civilians support war despite its moral cost? In a review just published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Jorge Ratia Avinent and I explore this phenomenon: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New preprint! Could prison be linked to changes in cognition? In this study, we investigated whether being incarcerated is associated with changes in the perception of oneself as an autonomous agent (i.e., the sense of agency) with @emiliecaspar.bsky.social : doi.org/10.31234/osf...

𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 (𝟵𝟳.𝟰%) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘀. A huge thank to my collaborators on this project, started in 2023 🎉: Nathan Vaccaro @emiliecaspar.bsky.social @pietroamerio.bsky.social @axc.bsky.social Christophe Leys Christophe Ley 3/n

Pretty proud of this one — it represents 3 years of work! Our new publication in American Psychologist uses EEG to investigate whether the brains of rescuers respond differently than former perpetrators and bystanders. @erc.europa.eu @ghentccn.bsky.social article: psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

Last week, I was in Israel to initiate a new research project on resistance and participation in armed conflicts. Even if still difficulty to take about it, in line with my commitment to sharing how I conduct field research, I have written a new blog post: emiliecaspar.home.blog/2025/11/19/w...

🎙️Emilie Caspar (@emiliecaspar.bsky.social): «La #neurociencia ayuda a comprender los procesos que ocurren antes de un genocidio». #EntrevistasEthic 

I think #Halloween is the right time to share this (very real) horror story by @emiliecaspar.bsky.social 😱 Read it (if you dare): scienceandfiction.net/stories/22_t...

New research in Rwanda has started ! We continue to try to understand what differs those who participate in a génocide, and those who instead risk their lives to save others. Here is a picture of our novel and ecological risk-taking task, inspired by the BART.

In this new study academic.oup.com/nc/article-a... we investigated how adding consequence to one's decision, and increasing the degree of deliberation, impacted different markers of voluntary action. /N

🧠Meet our new #NeuroNarratives counselors! 🗣️ Emilie Caspar - Effective Message Communication: Guiding clear, accurate public communication across disciplines. @emiliecaspar.bsky.social 👉 Learn more: neuro-narratives.com/counselors/ #ArtScience #ScienceCommunication #Residency

New publication in the Journal of Genocide Research! What social factors set rescuers apart from bystanders and perpetrators during genocide? Which ones may drive people to rescue, or to kill? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @erc.europa.eu & FWO #genocide #research #rescuers #participation

Vem aí mais um ciclo do Clube do Livro INCT SANI! 📚🤓 A obra escolhida para este semestre é "Just Following Orders", da @emiliecaspar.bsky.social, e os encontros acontecerão a partir do dia 18/08! Acompanhe nossas redes, em breve a gente anuncia como se inscrever 😉✨

New paper on the neural mechanisms associated with resistance to immoral orders in civilian and military populations @leslie-tricoche.bsky.social, Antonin Rovai & Salvatore Lo Bue Open Access: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... @moralsocialbrain.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu BIAL @ghentccn.bsky.social

We are glad to welcome Alisha Vabba who has received a 3-year postdoc grant from Ugent in our @moralsocialbrain.bsky.social She'll combine VR with EEG to investigate what happens in the brain when prison guards witness violent misconduct by colleagues and must decide whether to intervene or not

Honored to be featured in the special edition of "The War Within. Neuroscience to understand today's violent conflict" from the ABC journal! Discover the full issue: abcjournal.nl #neuroscience #war

New publication in Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) with @guillaumepech.bsky.social ! We investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’s family. academic.oup.com/scan/article...

Congratulations! It was a very great talk

Contacts to @victoriarambaud.bsky.social for a very good presentation on an impressive dataset with inmates followed over several months ! Results are very exciting !

Came across this paper while reviewing literature on genocide rescuers and… I am honestly (really) puzzled by the abstract. Does anyone have access to the full text? #WonderWoman #Science ?

I think I have a spy pigeon watching me from my office window 🕵️‍♀️🕊️

Interesting resource on academic freedom. #Belgium ranks well—let's keep it that way! While some countries' positions aren't surprising, a few others really caught me off guard. academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...

We are pleased to invite you to the first edition of the Social & Moral Brain seminar: Emotions, Others, and Morality, October 16–17, 2025, at the Ghent University Museum (GUM) Forum Belgium. Call for abstracts until May 19th 🔗 Submission : thesmbseminar.sciencesconf.org/resource/pag...

🧠 New preprint with @evalisavives.bsky.social Psych & neuro research often prioritize internal validity—at the cost of real-world relevance. Do our models reflect true brain function, or just lab-specific tasks? We propose concrete steps for boosting ecological validity osf.io/preprints/ps...

I am proud to represent #Belgium as an Ambassador of the ERC! At a time when politics increasingly threatens science, its funding, and researchers' neutrality, it is more important than ever to act — and to advocate for excellent, independent fundamental research. #Amb4ERC

Someone sent me this photo. It’s honestly chilling how many examples of "Just Following Orders" we can find — in the past, and still today. 😔 #HistoryRepeatsItself #Obedience #Inhuman

How long do neural alterations last after a human-related trauma, such as a genocide? And can they be transmitted across generations? → New in Biological Psychology on survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime : www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... with @guillaumepech.bsky.social & P. Ros

New podcast now available on The Michael Shermer Show ! Very interesting discussion about why and how people follow orders, even when it involves inflicting severe harm on others. #Skeptic #Obedience #Academia #Neuroscience #michaelshermer www.skeptic.com/michael-sher...

New event for the general public – Who Goes Fascist? I'm excited to be part of this podium discussion at the 71st edition of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen – the oldest short film festival in the world! Link to the event (free) : lnkd.in/edz4y_DZ #fascism #research #science

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the front page of the Korean version of my book features the question: 한나 아렌트가 뇌과학자였다면?—which translates to "What if #HannahArendt were a neuroscientist?" What an honor 😃 But these questions remain unfortunately so timely... @cambridgepress.bsky.social

🔔 Call for Participation – Social & Moral Brain Seminar 🔬🧠 focusing on the theme #Emotions, #Others, & #Morality. 📅 October 16–17, 2025 📍 Ghent University Museum (GUM), Belgium 👉 Submit your abstract for a short talk or a poster by May 4, 2025: thesmbseminar.sciencesconf.org/resource/pag...

Paper out in Cerebral Cortex! --> We assessed the neural bases of the sense of agency in civilians and military using a task where they were either free to decide or coerced by an experimenter to administer shocks Link: academic.oup.com/cercor/artic... With @axc.bsky.social, A. Rovai & S. Lo Bue

Glad of our new preprint osf.io/preprints/ps... w/ the incredible Elisabeth Pacherie, @emiliecaspar.bsky.social @axc.bsky.social & Uri Maoz. How does deliberation affect the well-known markers of voluntary actions ? 1/3

Waarom gehoorzamen we immorele bevelen? Lees het essay van dr. @emiliecaspar.bsky.social (UGent). 🔗 www.tijdschriftkarakter.be/immoreel-gez... #psychologie #neurowetenschap #StanleyMilgram

First lab meeting of the year! We had an impressive turnout of 26 attendees, including 11 Ph.D. students, 5 postdocs, and several national and international interns. Excited to see all the exciting projects that will emerge from this ! 🧪🧠 You can follow us @moralsocialbrain.bsky.social

On March 30th, I will be discussing what makes us follow orders and go from peacefully living together to carrying out violent and brutal acts at the #Oxford Literary Festival, alongside Leor Zmigrod & Laurence Rees. @cambridgeup.bsky.social To join --> oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-e...

My book "Just Following Orders" is now available in #Korean. Interestingly, its release in #SouthKorea almost coincided with the recent declaration of martial law by the former president in an authoritarian manner. Article --> www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2...

New Podcast on #Spotify on my research on moral #responsibility, my work with former genocide perpetrators, but also on the process on publishing a trade book on these topics. open.spotify.com/episode/15fF...

Not an academic success, but a success in patience! After 1.2 years, Popoleon (the black and white) finally accepted a candy from my hand! Maybe two more years before I can touch him, I guess! 😅 #patience #perseverance

Permanent Professor position in Brussels (Belgium) in Neuropsychology/experimental Psychology at @ulbruxelles.bsky.social : www.ulb.be/fr/vacances-... Don't hesitate to share! #Academia #Neuropsychology #Psychology

#DeepSeek is clearly biased. When asked about the current situation of the Uyghurs, the response starts but is then suppressed. This does not happen with other historical events. #NotReliable

Call for stories from individuals who resisted undue influence for an upcoming project based on my research. Please share or contact me. #comics #socialinfluence #resistance #academia #whistelblowing #rescue #help

I need help on a type 3 error example errorstatistics.com/2022/01/14/p... « A genuine P-value for the statistical null does not say much about the scientific null. Here is a more nuanced example: do academic audiences interrupt female speakers more often than they interrupt male speakers?» 1/3

* decision dilemma* Which cake will be your fight for tonight to kick off 2025 in the sweetest way? #Belgium #Pastry

My cat, Euclid, always applies weird geometrical laws to drink his water. 🧐😼 He had earned a feature in my book for his impressive grasp of causal laws. Now I'm thinking how to integrate this unique way to drink water into the next one! #science 🧪 #catlovers

Can we voluntarily control our empathy toward the pain of others? If so, is it affected by intergroup bias? In our new publication, using EEG and self-report we adress these questions with @emiliecaspar.bsky.social, Félix Banderembaho and Eva Nicolay www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Empathy can be a motivated phenomenon. But can (will?) people increase or decrease their neural empathic responses when witnessing members of an "outgroup" as well? With @guillaumepech.bsky.social, Eva Nicolay and Félix Banderembaho. 🧪 New paper out! --> www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

I thought that becoming a scientist would be hard but apparently not. You just have to « be incompetent » and « fail replicating ». FYI it’s not the take home message. You can found more relevant information in the paper of @lakens.bsky.social on the crisis in psychology osf.io/preprints/ps...

My very first text for #laypeople in #Dutch about my research on #obedience and genocides! I'm so proud! 🎉 Of course, I’m far from mastering the language, but I’ve clearly made progress. So grateful for this opportunity! 😃🙏 www.tijdschriftkarakter.be/immoreel-gez...