Our Brain Is Highjacked by the Herd Mentality
The fact – well known to political consultants – that people tend to go along with the crowd can be explained by a brain mechanism which has helped our survival as a species. Every time we differ from others, our brain responds by triggering an 'error signal', causing us to change our opinion in favour of the majority, reveals a study by Vasily Klucharev.
Vasily Klyucharev, Dean of the HSE Faculty of Psychology: ‘Our objective is to integrate our faculty into the European academic space’
Vasily Klyucharev is the new Dean of the HSE Faculty of Psychology. His professional interests lie in neuroeconomics - more specifically, in the study of social influence, of the ways our decisions can be manipulated, what mechanisms are at play, and which parts of our brain are involved when someone tries to manipulate us. The new Dean talked to our news service about the faculty's upcoming research projects and academic courses.