The Sociocultural Brain: A Cultural Neuroscience Approach to Human Nature

by Shihui Han

How is the human brain shaped by our sociocultural experiences? What neural correlates underlie the extraordinary cultural diversity of human behavior? How do our genes interact with sociocultural experiences to moderate human brain functional organization and behavior?

This Sociocultural Brain provides a new perspective on human brain functional organization, highlighting the role of human sociocultural experience and its interaction with genes in shaping human brain and behavior. Drawing on cutting edge research from the burgeoning field of cultural neuroscience, it reveals the cross-cultural differences in human brain activity that underlye a multitude of cognitive and affective processes - including visual perception/attention, memory, causal attribution, inference of others' mental states, self-reflection, and empathy. In addition, it presents studies that integrate brain imaging and cultural priming to explore the causal relationship between culture and brain functional organization.

The book ends with a discussion of the implications of cultural neuroscience findings for understanding the nature of human brain and culture, as well as the implications for education, cross-cultural communication and conflict, and the clinical treatment of mental disorders.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published August 8, 2017

Reviews

[Wing · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may be hard to challenge the raw data described in the book. However, the author's interpretations are without a doubt based on a single perspective: a culture-behaviour-brain loop model of human development. This perspective is itself influenced by culture. Readers will note that correlation is not necessarily the same as causality, and the proposed model may not be entirely correct. In having said that, the possibility of the Baldwin Effect playing a role in human culture and behaviour should be entertained. There is a tendency to oversimplify the human experience. Such simplification is inevitable in the context of conducting researches but it does risk the distortion of reality. Likewise, how simple and basic cognitive tasks shape complex human behaviour and to what extent remain speculative but future studies may shine more light upon this. In any case, there are some fascinating studies on neurotransmitter receptors allelic variations and neurocognitive correlates plasticity that are definitely worth perusing. Three and a half stars.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I read a book written over three decades ago...