Studying Implicit Social Cognition with Noninvasive Brain Stimulation.

Given that globalization has brought different sociocultural groups together on an unprecedented scale, understanding the neurobiology underlying intergroup social behavior has never been more urgent. Social and cognitive scientists are increasingly using noninvasive brain-stimulation techniques (NBS) to explore the neural mechanisms underlying implicit attitudes and stereotyping. NBS methods, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), can interfere with ongoing brain activity in targeted brain areas and distributed networks, and thus offer unique insights into the mechanisms underlying how we perceive, understand, and make decisions about others. NBS represents a promising tool to promote knowledge about the social minds of humans.