Learning together

In the Learning Together study, our main goal is to examine when and how changes in different types of social learning emerge during adolescence, and which neurocognitive mechanisms underlie these behavioral changes, using computational modeling.

Adolescence is a life-phase in which social behavior shows remarkable changes. For instance, during the teenage years peers become more important and we increasingly gain skills important for understanding other people. How do these changes relate to our ability to learn from observing other’s mistakes and successes? How do we learn what actions help or benefit other people? How do we learn who we can trust and cooperate with?

In this project we map cognitive mechanisms in observational learning (learning from others), prosocial learning (learning for others) and learning whom to trust (learning about others) during adolescence. Collaborators of this project extend these insights to youth with antisocial behavior.