Neuro-computational mechanisms of information acquisition and integration in social contexts

We live in a connected world where our social environment vastly shapes how we behave as individuals. Such social influences can be beneficial, allowing us to learn from others, collaborate and live in groups; but they can also be detrimental and anxiety-inducing, as seen with the rise of fake news propagation, social media abuse, and social groups polarisation. In this project, I plan to develop mathematical models of human behaviour, combined with brain imaging techniques, to understand how social influences work when we seek information from others, and when we use that information to learn and make decisions. I will also examine how these behaviours may go awry in individuals with anxiety and other psychiatric symptoms. This work has the long-term potential of contributing to issues faced by our modern societies, such as policies to reduce the spread of misinformation and interventions to improve social behaviour in mental disorders.