Emile Gabriel Bruneau Ph.D.

About

After 30 years of concerted multinational effort to address ethnopolitical conflicts, we still have very little idea about what types of conflict resolution interventions work, which don't, and for whom. Emile Bruneau is a social cognitive neuroscientist at MIT researching the neural basis of intergroup conflict, and the psychological and cognitive consequences of conflict resolution efforts.

Emile Bruneau received his Ph.D. in neuroscience and now conducts his research at the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at MIT. Prior to this, he was a high school and elementary school teacher, and had extensive experience living and travelling abroad. These travels brought him to a number of conflict regions, including South Africa during the fall of Apartheid and the unfolding of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Sri Lanka during a major Tamil Tiger attack. The immediate inspiration for his current research came after volunteering at a conflict resolution camp in Ireland during “The Troubles.” While the camp boasted notable successes in the form of intergroup friendships, it was also characterized by a colossal failure when a fight broke out at the end of the camp, resulting in a massive partisan brawl. Emile was left wondering what affect this program, and programs like it, actually have on partisan attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. These questions, examined through the lenses both of neuroscience and education, have inspired his current research program at MIT.

Recent Posts

Finding Humanity in Alien Eyes

Humanity's past is littered with examples of extreme intergroup violence. Hints about how to nudge groups away from susceptibility to genocide may lie in the place where artistic intuition and scientific inquiry meet: how aliens are depicted in film, and how groups are perceived in a psychological model of stereotype content.

The Imp of the Perverse

Over 150 years ago, Edgar Allen Poe wrote about "the Imp of the perverse"—that itching desire in the mind to do something we know is inappropriate. What can we learn about these "imps"?

Trust and Betrayal: The Unkindest Cut

'Creating trust' is such a common goal of intergroup conflict resolution and dialogue programs that it is almost reflexive. But should this really be a goal of these programs? Sure, trust can bring people together and is a key component of a lasting relationship, but it can also lead to one of the most powerful motivators for violence and aggression: betrayal.

Fractures in the Road to Peace: Group Narratives and Bias

"You cannot negotiate with terrorists." Is this true? Are groups we consider terrorists (Hamas, al Qaeda, etc.) as irrational as the dominant narrative suggests? Perhaps, but we also have a psychological bias that feeds this narrative. Together, bias and narrative may be imiting our options to end intergroup conflicts.

Evaluating Conflict Resolution: An Introduction

The late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat famously spoke about the psychological barrier that existed between Israeli and Arab that represented "70 percent of the whole problem." How do we surmount the barrier that exists between conflict groups and determine whether we've been successful? What help can neuroscience provide?