Social Behaviour, Language and Communication

Human sociality and language are among our defining traits as a species - all aspects of our lives are defined by our interactions with others and society, and our cognition and emotions allow us to thrive in a social world. At the same time, cooperation and competition with others provide the main challenges we have to face every day, and the changing structures of modern social groups and the emergence of new forms of social interaction in the age of AI and social media can easily seem overwhelming. The research theme Social Behaviour, Language & Communication tackles the complexities of this interplay between individuals and society from all angles, exploring the evolution, development, and cognition of how we communicate and form healthy relationships and groups, and what happens if relationships and society put strains on the individual. To capture the multi-faceted nature of social life, we employ a variety of methods, bringing together animal observations and experiments, linguistics, biopsychology, experimental psychology, neuroscience, computational modelling, mental health interventions, and the human-AI interface in a uniquely interdisciplinary research environment.  

Social interaction are fundamental to our well being.