Emilie Caspar
@emiliecaspar.bsky.social
Associate Professor @Ugent / Social Neuroscientist / Humanist / Author of "Just following orders"
Last week, I was in Israel to initiate a new research project on resistance and participation in armed conflicts.
Even if still difficulty to take about it, in line with my commitment to sharing how I conduct field research, I have written a new blog post:
emiliecaspar.home.blog/2025/11/19/w...
Even if still difficulty to take about it, in line with my commitment to sharing how I conduct field research, I have written a new blog post:
emiliecaspar.home.blog/2025/11/19/w...
What it is like to study resistance and participation in Israel?
I must say, this has not been an easy blog post to write. Never have I seen a conflict that splits so much societies and citizens around the world. That polarization spills into research spaces too…
emiliecaspar.home.blog
November 21, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Last week, I was in Israel to initiate a new research project on resistance and participation in armed conflicts.
Even if still difficulty to take about it, in line with my commitment to sharing how I conduct field research, I have written a new blog post:
emiliecaspar.home.blog/2025/11/19/w...
Even if still difficulty to take about it, in line with my commitment to sharing how I conduct field research, I have written a new blog post:
emiliecaspar.home.blog/2025/11/19/w...
Reposted by Emilie Caspar
🎙️Emilie Caspar (@emiliecaspar.bsky.social): «La #neurociencia ayuda a comprender los procesos que ocurren antes de un genocidio». #EntrevistasEthic
Emilie Caspar: «La neurociencia ayuda a comprender los procesos que ocurren antes de un genocidio» | Ethic
La neurocientífica social Emilie Caspar explica las bases psicológicas de la obediencia y la violencia masiva.
ethic.es
November 7, 2025 at 8:04 AM
🎙️Emilie Caspar (@emiliecaspar.bsky.social): «La #neurociencia ayuda a comprender los procesos que ocurren antes de un genocidio». #EntrevistasEthic
Reposted by Emilie Caspar
I think #Halloween is the right time to share this (very real) horror story by @emiliecaspar.bsky.social 😱
Read it (if you dare): scienceandfiction.net/stories/22_t...
Read it (if you dare): scienceandfiction.net/stories/22_t...
October 31, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I think #Halloween is the right time to share this (very real) horror story by @emiliecaspar.bsky.social 😱
Read it (if you dare): scienceandfiction.net/stories/22_t...
Read it (if you dare): scienceandfiction.net/stories/22_t...
New research in Rwanda has started ! We continue to try to understand what differs those who participate in a génocide, and those who instead risk their lives to save others.
Here is a picture of our novel and ecological risk-taking task, inspired by the BART.
Here is a picture of our novel and ecological risk-taking task, inspired by the BART.
October 17, 2025 at 9:48 AM
New research in Rwanda has started ! We continue to try to understand what differs those who participate in a génocide, and those who instead risk their lives to save others.
Here is a picture of our novel and ecological risk-taking task, inspired by the BART.
Here is a picture of our novel and ecological risk-taking task, inspired by the BART.
Reposted by Emilie Caspar
In this new study academic.oup.com/nc/article-a...
we investigated how adding consequence to one's decision, and increasing the degree of deliberation, impacted different markers of voluntary action. /N
we investigated how adding consequence to one's decision, and increasing the degree of deliberation, impacted different markers of voluntary action. /N
A multi-measurement study of the relation between deliberation and volition
Abstract. Historically, voluntary action and volition more generally have been investigated through the lens of meaningless decisions. Importantly, these f
academic.oup.com
August 11, 2025 at 12:03 PM
In this new study academic.oup.com/nc/article-a...
we investigated how adding consequence to one's decision, and increasing the degree of deliberation, impacted different markers of voluntary action. /N
we investigated how adding consequence to one's decision, and increasing the degree of deliberation, impacted different markers of voluntary action. /N
Reposted by Emilie Caspar
🧠Meet our new #NeuroNarratives counselors!
🗣️ Emilie Caspar - Effective Message Communication: Guiding clear, accurate public communication across disciplines.
@emiliecaspar.bsky.social
👉 Learn more: neuro-narratives.com/counselors/
#ArtScience #ScienceCommunication #Residency
🗣️ Emilie Caspar - Effective Message Communication: Guiding clear, accurate public communication across disciplines.
@emiliecaspar.bsky.social
👉 Learn more: neuro-narratives.com/counselors/
#ArtScience #ScienceCommunication #Residency
July 31, 2025 at 9:59 AM
🧠Meet our new #NeuroNarratives counselors!
🗣️ Emilie Caspar - Effective Message Communication: Guiding clear, accurate public communication across disciplines.
@emiliecaspar.bsky.social
👉 Learn more: neuro-narratives.com/counselors/
#ArtScience #ScienceCommunication #Residency
🗣️ Emilie Caspar - Effective Message Communication: Guiding clear, accurate public communication across disciplines.
@emiliecaspar.bsky.social
👉 Learn more: neuro-narratives.com/counselors/
#ArtScience #ScienceCommunication #Residency
New publication in the Journal of Genocide Research!
What social factors set rescuers apart from bystanders and perpetrators during genocide?
Which ones may drive people to rescue, or to kill?
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@erc.europa.eu & FWO
#genocide #research #rescuers #participation
What social factors set rescuers apart from bystanders and perpetrators during genocide?
Which ones may drive people to rescue, or to kill?
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@erc.europa.eu & FWO
#genocide #research #rescuers #participation
Do Social Factors Differ between Rescuers, Bystanders, and Former Perpetrators? Explaining (Non-)Participation in a Genocide
Understanding which social factors (i.e. biographical availability, socialization, and situational contexts) support resistance or participation in genocide remains a largely unresolved societal an...
www.tandfonline.com
July 31, 2025 at 9:10 AM
New publication in the Journal of Genocide Research!
What social factors set rescuers apart from bystanders and perpetrators during genocide?
Which ones may drive people to rescue, or to kill?
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@erc.europa.eu & FWO
#genocide #research #rescuers #participation
What social factors set rescuers apart from bystanders and perpetrators during genocide?
Which ones may drive people to rescue, or to kill?
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@erc.europa.eu & FWO
#genocide #research #rescuers #participation
Reposted by Emilie Caspar
Vem aí mais um ciclo do Clube do Livro INCT SANI! 📚🤓
A obra escolhida para este semestre é "Just Following Orders", da @emiliecaspar.bsky.social, e os encontros acontecerão a partir do dia 18/08!
Acompanhe nossas redes, em breve a gente anuncia como se inscrever 😉✨
A obra escolhida para este semestre é "Just Following Orders", da @emiliecaspar.bsky.social, e os encontros acontecerão a partir do dia 18/08!
Acompanhe nossas redes, em breve a gente anuncia como se inscrever 😉✨
July 30, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Vem aí mais um ciclo do Clube do Livro INCT SANI! 📚🤓
A obra escolhida para este semestre é "Just Following Orders", da @emiliecaspar.bsky.social, e os encontros acontecerão a partir do dia 18/08!
Acompanhe nossas redes, em breve a gente anuncia como se inscrever 😉✨
A obra escolhida para este semestre é "Just Following Orders", da @emiliecaspar.bsky.social, e os encontros acontecerão a partir do dia 18/08!
Acompanhe nossas redes, em breve a gente anuncia como se inscrever 😉✨
Reposted by Emilie Caspar
New paper on the neural mechanisms associated with resistance to immoral orders in civilian and military populations
@leslie-tricoche.bsky.social, Antonin Rovai & Salvatore Lo Bue
Open Access: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
@moralsocialbrain.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu BIAL @ghentccn.bsky.social
@leslie-tricoche.bsky.social, Antonin Rovai & Salvatore Lo Bue
Open Access: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
@moralsocialbrain.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu BIAL @ghentccn.bsky.social
July 23, 2025 at 5:57 AM
New paper on the neural mechanisms associated with resistance to immoral orders in civilian and military populations
@leslie-tricoche.bsky.social, Antonin Rovai & Salvatore Lo Bue
Open Access: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
@moralsocialbrain.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu BIAL @ghentccn.bsky.social
@leslie-tricoche.bsky.social, Antonin Rovai & Salvatore Lo Bue
Open Access: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
@moralsocialbrain.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu BIAL @ghentccn.bsky.social
We are glad to welcome Alisha Vabba who has received a 3-year postdoc grant from Ugent in our @moralsocialbrain.bsky.social
She'll combine VR with EEG to investigate what happens in the brain when prison guards witness violent misconduct by colleagues and must decide whether to intervene or not
She'll combine VR with EEG to investigate what happens in the brain when prison guards witness violent misconduct by colleagues and must decide whether to intervene or not
June 23, 2025 at 9:44 AM
We are glad to welcome Alisha Vabba who has received a 3-year postdoc grant from Ugent in our @moralsocialbrain.bsky.social
She'll combine VR with EEG to investigate what happens in the brain when prison guards witness violent misconduct by colleagues and must decide whether to intervene or not
She'll combine VR with EEG to investigate what happens in the brain when prison guards witness violent misconduct by colleagues and must decide whether to intervene or not
Honored to be featured in the special edition of "The War Within. Neuroscience to understand today's violent conflict" from the ABC journal!
Discover the full issue: abcjournal.nl
#neuroscience #war
Discover the full issue: abcjournal.nl
#neuroscience #war
June 16, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Honored to be featured in the special edition of "The War Within. Neuroscience to understand today's violent conflict" from the ABC journal!
Discover the full issue: abcjournal.nl
#neuroscience #war
Discover the full issue: abcjournal.nl
#neuroscience #war
New publication in Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) with @guillaumepech.bsky.social !
We investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’s family.
academic.oup.com/scan/article...
We investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’s family.
academic.oup.com/scan/article...
A cross-cultural EEG study of how obedience and conformity influence reconciliation intentions
Abstract. The study investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’
academic.oup.com
May 30, 2025 at 11:23 AM
New publication in Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) with @guillaumepech.bsky.social !
We investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’s family.
academic.oup.com/scan/article...
We investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’s family.
academic.oup.com/scan/article...
Congratulations! It was a very great talk
I was happy to share our results at #BAPS2025, showing how prison settings impact inmates' sense of agency. These results contribute to questioning our punitive practices and whether they truly support rehabilitation.
@moralsocialbrain.bsky.social
@emiliecaspar.bsky.social
@moralsocialbrain.bsky.social
@emiliecaspar.bsky.social
May 28, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Congratulations! It was a very great talk
Contacts to @victoriarambaud.bsky.social for a very good presentation on an impressive dataset with inmates followed over several months !
Results are very exciting !
Results are very exciting !
I presented today at #BAPS2025 how early incarceration impacts decision-making, showing that incarceration shapes how inmates learn from #reward and #punishment.
Understanding these patterns is key to supporting #rehabilitation.
#Prison #DecisionMaking #Psychology
@moralsocialbrain.bsky.social
Understanding these patterns is key to supporting #rehabilitation.
#Prison #DecisionMaking #Psychology
@moralsocialbrain.bsky.social
May 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Contacts to @victoriarambaud.bsky.social for a very good presentation on an impressive dataset with inmates followed over several months !
Results are very exciting !
Results are very exciting !
Came across this paper while reviewing literature on genocide rescuers and… I am honestly (really) puzzled by the abstract.
Does anyone have access to the full text?
#WonderWoman #Science ?
Does anyone have access to the full text?
#WonderWoman #Science ?
May 8, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Came across this paper while reviewing literature on genocide rescuers and… I am honestly (really) puzzled by the abstract.
Does anyone have access to the full text?
#WonderWoman #Science ?
Does anyone have access to the full text?
#WonderWoman #Science ?
I think I have a spy pigeon watching me from my office window 🕵️♀️🕊️
May 5, 2025 at 12:08 PM
I think I have a spy pigeon watching me from my office window 🕵️♀️🕊️
Interesting resource on academic freedom. #Belgium ranks well—let's keep it that way! While some countries' positions aren't surprising, a few others really caught me off guard.
academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...
academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...
academic-freedom-index.net
May 3, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Interesting resource on academic freedom. #Belgium ranks well—let's keep it that way! While some countries' positions aren't surprising, a few others really caught me off guard.
academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...
academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...
We are pleased to invite you to the first edition of the Social & Moral Brain seminar: Emotions, Others, and Morality, October 16–17, 2025, at the Ghent University Museum (GUM) Forum Belgium.
Call for abstracts until May 19th
🔗 Submission : thesmbseminar.sciencesconf.org/resource/pag...
Call for abstracts until May 19th
🔗 Submission : thesmbseminar.sciencesconf.org/resource/pag...
April 30, 2025 at 2:06 PM
We are pleased to invite you to the first edition of the Social & Moral Brain seminar: Emotions, Others, and Morality, October 16–17, 2025, at the Ghent University Museum (GUM) Forum Belgium.
Call for abstracts until May 19th
🔗 Submission : thesmbseminar.sciencesconf.org/resource/pag...
Call for abstracts until May 19th
🔗 Submission : thesmbseminar.sciencesconf.org/resource/pag...
🧠 New preprint with @evalisavives.bsky.social
Psych & neuro research often prioritize internal validity—at the cost of real-world relevance. Do our models reflect true brain function, or just lab-specific tasks?
We propose concrete steps for boosting ecological validity osf.io/preprints/ps...
Psych & neuro research often prioritize internal validity—at the cost of real-world relevance. Do our models reflect true brain function, or just lab-specific tasks?
We propose concrete steps for boosting ecological validity osf.io/preprints/ps...
April 29, 2025 at 9:30 AM
🧠 New preprint with @evalisavives.bsky.social
Psych & neuro research often prioritize internal validity—at the cost of real-world relevance. Do our models reflect true brain function, or just lab-specific tasks?
We propose concrete steps for boosting ecological validity osf.io/preprints/ps...
Psych & neuro research often prioritize internal validity—at the cost of real-world relevance. Do our models reflect true brain function, or just lab-specific tasks?
We propose concrete steps for boosting ecological validity osf.io/preprints/ps...
I am proud to represent #Belgium as an Ambassador of the ERC!
At a time when politics increasingly threatens science, its funding, and researchers' neutrality, it is more important than ever to act — and to advocate for excellent, independent fundamental research.
#Amb4ERC
At a time when politics increasingly threatens science, its funding, and researchers' neutrality, it is more important than ever to act — and to advocate for excellent, independent fundamental research.
#Amb4ERC
🚀 We are proud to launch the new "Ambassadors for the ERC" initiative, together with @ercgrantees.bsky.social !
We aim to empower researchers across Europe to advocate for frontier research. Find out more 👉 bit.ly/44bQzp7
🌟 Excited to see what can be achieved!
#Amb4ERC
We aim to empower researchers across Europe to advocate for frontier research. Find out more 👉 bit.ly/44bQzp7
🌟 Excited to see what can be achieved!
#Amb4ERC
April 29, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Someone sent me this photo. It’s honestly chilling how many examples of "Just Following Orders" we can find — in the past, and still today. 😔
#HistoryRepeatsItself #Obedience #Inhuman
#HistoryRepeatsItself #Obedience #Inhuman
April 24, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Someone sent me this photo. It’s honestly chilling how many examples of "Just Following Orders" we can find — in the past, and still today. 😔
#HistoryRepeatsItself #Obedience #Inhuman
#HistoryRepeatsItself #Obedience #Inhuman
How long do neural alterations last after a human-related trauma, such as a genocide? And can they be transmitted across generations?
→ New in Biological Psychology on survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime : www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
with @guillaumepech.bsky.social & P. Ros
→ New in Biological Psychology on survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime : www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
with @guillaumepech.bsky.social & P. Ros
April 22, 2025 at 7:52 AM
How long do neural alterations last after a human-related trauma, such as a genocide? And can they be transmitted across generations?
→ New in Biological Psychology on survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime : www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
with @guillaumepech.bsky.social & P. Ros
→ New in Biological Psychology on survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime : www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
with @guillaumepech.bsky.social & P. Ros
New podcast now available on The Michael Shermer Show !
Very interesting discussion about why and how people follow orders, even when it involves inflicting severe harm on others.
#Skeptic #Obedience #Academia #Neuroscience #michaelshermer
www.skeptic.com/michael-sher...
Very interesting discussion about why and how people follow orders, even when it involves inflicting severe harm on others.
#Skeptic #Obedience #Academia #Neuroscience #michaelshermer
www.skeptic.com/michael-sher...
Why We Follow Orders: The Neuroscience of Compliance and Control
About this episode:
Why do ordinary people carry out extraordinary harm when simply told to do so? From the Holocaust to the genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Cambodia, history shows how obedience to ...
www.skeptic.com
April 20, 2025 at 11:55 AM
New podcast now available on The Michael Shermer Show !
Very interesting discussion about why and how people follow orders, even when it involves inflicting severe harm on others.
#Skeptic #Obedience #Academia #Neuroscience #michaelshermer
www.skeptic.com/michael-sher...
Very interesting discussion about why and how people follow orders, even when it involves inflicting severe harm on others.
#Skeptic #Obedience #Academia #Neuroscience #michaelshermer
www.skeptic.com/michael-sher...
New event for the general public – Who Goes Fascist?
I'm excited to be part of this podium discussion at the 71st edition of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen – the oldest short film festival in the world!
Link to the event (free) : lnkd.in/edz4y_DZ
#fascism #research #science
I'm excited to be part of this podium discussion at the 71st edition of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen – the oldest short film festival in the world!
Link to the event (free) : lnkd.in/edz4y_DZ
#fascism #research #science
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
April 13, 2025 at 1:52 PM
New event for the general public – Who Goes Fascist?
I'm excited to be part of this podium discussion at the 71st edition of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen – the oldest short film festival in the world!
Link to the event (free) : lnkd.in/edz4y_DZ
#fascism #research #science
I'm excited to be part of this podium discussion at the 71st edition of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen – the oldest short film festival in the world!
Link to the event (free) : lnkd.in/edz4y_DZ
#fascism #research #science