Special Topics: Social Animals
Social behavior across species is the focus of this MIT course, covering social development, social cognition, and social neuroscience in both humans and non-human animals. Topics include altruism, empathy, communication, theory of mind, aggression, power, group dynamics, mating, and morality. The course draws on evolutionary biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, social psychology, and anthropology to examine why social demands, both cooperative and competitive, shape brain and behavior. Materials include readings and course notes made available through MIT OpenCourseWare, following the standard OCW format of lecture topics, assignments, and reference materials rather than a single lecture. No enrollment fee applies, and there is no certificate offered since this is a self-study OpenCourseWare release rather than an instructor-led or MOOC platform course.