The Social Brain: The Blind Men and The Elephant

Extract

Social Neuroscience: Integrating Biological and Psychological Explanations of Social Behavior. Eddie Harmon-Jones and Piotr Winkielman (Eds.). 2007. New York: The Guilford Press, 512 pp., $65.00 (HB)

I reviewed this book shortly after reading The Neuroscience of Human Relationships, by Louis Cozolino (2006), hoping that this book, which addresses how our brains exist in relationship to other brains, would be an adequate prerequisite for Social Neuroscience. I had concerns that its focus would be the biology of social psychology proper (rather than the biology of social relationships) for which I would be less qualified and less interested. A quick perusal convinced me that the book was indeed about the biological basis of human social behavior. With that information and a review of a similar title, Social Neuroscience: People Thinking About Thinking People (Fein, 2006), I proceeded.