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Social neuroscience, Developmental psychology, Behavioral economics, Morality, Empathy, Developmental social neuroscience, Social decision-making, Psychopathy, Cross-cultural psychology
United States

Biography

Humans evolved with psychological motives such as self-interest and prosociality. How can one be generous, helpful, and cooperative and yet also be self-absorbed, rude, or abusive? What neurobiological and psychological mechanisms guide social decision-making and moral reasoning? How do these abilities develop in children, and how are they shaped by life experiences, resource scarcity, and group dynamics? Why do some people develop strong moral convictions that can lead to dogmatism, intolerance, and violent collective actions?

I investigate these real-world questions with the multi-level approach that characterizes social neuroscience, using structural and functional MRI, high-density EEG/ERP, eye-tracking, and cognitive and social psychology, and behavioral economics.

To encourage human cooperation on a global level, I believe that our naturally emerging prosocial tendencies, which are further cultivated by parents and social institutions, are best balanced with a healthy dose of reasoning. Finally, I highly value teaching, especially undergraduate students, as it encourages me to think about the long road, the big picture, and find meaningful links with other disciplines such as biology, evolutionary theory, economics, mental health, education, sociology and political science.

I have been on the University of Chicago faculty since 2006. Before that, I was a professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, and research director at the National Medical Research Institute (INSERM) in Lyon, France. I received my Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Université Claude Bernard in Lyon, France in 1990, followed by a post-doctoral scholarship for two years at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm (Sweden) in the Departments of Neurophysiology and Neuroradiology.

Activities

Employment (1)

University of Chicago: Chicago, IL, US

Professor (Psychology)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Jean Decety

Works (20)

Moral conviction interacts with metacognitive ability in modulating neural activity during sociopolitical decision-making.

Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience
2024-12-19 | Journal article
Contributors: Cao Q; Cohen MS; Bakkour A; Leong YC; Decety J
Source: Self-asserted source
Jean Decety

Empathy in autistic children: Emotional overarousal in response to others' physical pain

Autism Research
2024-08 | Journal article
Contributors: Tianbi Li; Jean Decety; Zihui Hua; Guoxiang Li; Li Yi
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Crossref

Pourquoi les convictions morales facilitent le dogmatisme, l’intolérance et la violence

L'Évolution Psychiatrique
2024-06 | Journal article
Contributors: Jean Decety
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Crossref

Intersubject correlations in reward and mentalizing brain circuits separately predict persuasiveness of two types of ISIS video propaganda

Scientific Reports
2024-06-12 | Journal article
Contributors: Michael S. Cohen; Yuan Chang Leong; Keven Ruby; Robert A. Pape; Jean Decety
Source: check_circle
Crossref

Moral conviction interacts with metacognitive ability in modulating neural activity during sociopolitical decision-making

2024-05-29 | Preprint
Contributors: Qiongwen Cao; Michael Stewart Cohen; Akram Bakkour; Yuan Chang Leong; Jean Decety
Source: check_circle
Crossref

“More support, less distress? ”: Examining the role of social norms in alleviating practitioners’ psychological distress in the context of assisted dying services

Death Studies
2024-04-10 | Journal article
Contributors: Susilo Wibisono; Payam Mavandadi; Stuart Wilkinson; Catherine Amiot; Liz Forbat; Emma F. Thomas; Felicity Allen; Jean Decety; Kerrie Noonan; Kiara Minto et al.
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Crossref

The power of moral conviction: How it catalyzes dogmatism, intolerance, and violence

Proceedings of the Paris Institute for Advanced Study
2024-04-02 | Journal article | Writing - original draft
Contributors: Jean Decety
Source: Self-asserted source
Jean Decety
grade
Preferred source (of 2)‎

Intersubject correlations in reward and mentalizing brain circuits separately predict persuasiveness of two types of ISIS video propaganda

2023-09-29 | Preprint
Contributors: Michael Stewart Cohen; Yuan Chang Leong; Keven Ruby; Robert A. Pape; Jean Decety
Source: check_circle
Crossref

Are empathic processes mechanisms of pregnancy's protective effect on smoking? Identification of a novel target for preventive intervention

Social Science & Medicine
2022-07 | Journal article
Contributors: Suena H. Massey; Ryne Estabrook; Leiszle Lapping-Carr; Rebecca L. Newmark; Jean Decety; Katherine L. Wisner; Lauren S. Wakschlag
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Crossref

Moral conviction and metacognitive ability shape multiple stages of information processing during social decision-making

Cortex
2022-06 | Journal article
Contributors: Keith J. Yoder; Jean Decety
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Neural computations in children’s third-party interventions are modulated by their parents’ moral values

npj Science of Learning
2021-12-17 | Journal article
Contributors: Minkang Kim; Jean Decety; Ling Wu; Soohyun Baek; Derek Sankey
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Crossref

Why Empathy Is Not a Reliable Source of Information in Moral Decision Making

Current Directions in Psychological Science
2021-10 | Journal article
Contributors: Jean Decety
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Crossref

An investigation of children's empathic dispositions and behaviours across seven countries

Infant and Child Development
2021-09 | Journal article
Contributors: Violet Kozloff; Jason M. Cowell; Elizabeth Huppert; Natalia Gomez‐Sicard; Kang Lee; Randa Mahasneh; Susan Malcolm‐Smith; Bilge Selcuk; Xinyue Zhou; Jean Decety
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Crossref

The Dark Side of Morality – Neural Mechanisms Underpinning Moral Convictions and Support for Violence

AJOB Neuroscience
2020-10-01 | Journal article
Contributors: Clifford I. Workman; Keith J. Yoder; Jean Decety
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Empathy in Medicine: What It Is, and How Much We Really Need It

The American Journal of Medicine
2020-05 | Journal article
Contributors: Jean Decety
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Effects of early adversity and social discrimination on empathy for complex mental states: An fMRI investigation

Scientific Reports
2019-09-10 | Journal article
Contributors: Melike M. Fourie; Dan J. Stein; Mark Solms; Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela; Jean Decety
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Crossref

The relationship between cavum septum pellucidum and psychopathic traits in female offenders

Behavioural Brain Research
2019-02 | Journal article
Contributors: Dana Crooks; Nathaniel E. Anderson; Matthew Widdows; Nia Petseva; Jean Decety; Charles Pluto; Kent A. Kiehl
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Crossref

Predictive utility cannot substitute for construct validity

Medical Education
2018-04 | Journal article
Contributors: Jean Decety; Karen E Smith; Greg J Norman
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Physiological dynamics of stress contagion

Scientific Reports
2017-07-21 | Journal article
Contributors: Stephanie J. Dimitroff; Omid Kardan; Elizabeth A. Necka; Jean Decety; Marc G. Berman; Greg J. Norman
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Crossref

Anxiolytic treatment impairs helping behavior in rats

2016-03-17 | Preprint
Contributors: I. Ben-Ami Bartal; H. Z. Shan; N. M. R. Molasky; T. M. Murray; J. Z. Williams; J. Decety; Peggy Mason
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Crossref

Peer review (2 reviews for 2 publications/grants)

Review activity for Advanced science. (1)
Review activity for Journal of experimental psychology. (1)