Welcome to the SPRINGLAB

Social (Perception, Reasoning, Interactions) Neuroscience Group

Photo from the streets of Santiago, Chile

© 2024, Dana Samson

We explore the cognitive and neural basis of social behavior

At SpringLab, we specialize in developing innovative behavioral paradigms to investigate the broad scope of social cognition, from basic perspective-taking to complex moral reasoning. 

More recently, we initiated two new lines of research to explore the relationship between social cognition and, on the one hand, wisdom (one of the most sustainable approaches to decision-making) and, on the other hand, social isolation (one of the most detrimental predictors of mental and physical health).

Drawing on a wide range of experimental psychology and neuroscience techniques, we study individuals with social impairments, including brain-damaged and psychiatric patients, as well as healthy adults

Our aim is to contribute to both scientific knowledge and its clinical and broader societal applications.

We are  located at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) since 2010

Previous locations : University of Nottingham (2007-2011), University of Birmingham (2002-2007)

Wisdom

What are the cognitive and neural bases of wisdom? How can we foster wisdom? See details

Picture © 2025, Dana Samson

Social Isolation

What are the socio-cognitive determinants of social isolation and loneliness? See details

Photo from the streets of Santiago, Chile,
© 2024, Dana Samson

Perspective Taking

When and how do we see what other see?  See details

Photo from the streets of Valparaiso, Chile, 

© 2024, Dana Samson

Theory of Mind

How can we unpack this complex construct at the cognitive and neural level? See details

Photo from the streets of Santiago, Chile,
© 2024, Dana Samson

Moral Cognition

When and how do we consider mitigating factors in our moral judgments? See details

Photo from the streets of Valparaiso, Chile, 

© 2024, Dana Samson

Clinical Neuropsychology

We develop clinical diagnosis and rehabilitation tools. See details

Photo from the streets of Santiago, Chile,
© 2024, Dana Samson

Many of our stimuli and data are freely available on Figshare 

See links in the topic sections

Interested in our research ?

Contact us at dana.samson@uclouvain.be