We study human sociality, with a cognitive science orientation, and a special focus on moral judgment and behavior. Some of the questions we are currently studying include: Why, and how, did punishment evolve? What are the emotional systems that prevent us from doing harm to each other? How do humans make sense of each others’ behavior? Among all the things we could do at any moment, how do we decide which ones are worth considering? What are the cognitive mechanisms that enable cumulative culture? We use surveys, economic games, functional neuroimaging, computational modeling and other methods to answer these questions.

The lab is directed by Fiery Cushman and housed in the psychology department at Harvard University. On this site you can learn more about who we are and the research we do, download publications, and find out how to get involved.