Mauricio Aspé Sánchez, psychologist and student of the 2015 generation of the Doctorate in Social Complexity Sciences (DCCS) of the Faculty of Government of the Universidad del Desarrollo, is the fifth PhD in Social Complexity Sciences. With an impeccable defense of his thesis “Human Reciprocity. Behavioural component and neurocognitive signatures discriminating outcomes and intentions in trust-repayment behaviour – and some evolutionary considerations”, Mauricio reviewed this Wednesday, August 5, by Zoom, the most important aspects of the work developed during his years as a doctoral student. 

Mauricio’s work on human reciprocity dealt mainly with both behavioral and neurocognitive/neurophysiological components that are within the process of reciprocity and how these components allow discriminating scenarios where subjects are only interested in outcomes and intentions when they are in a trust-repayment interaction. 

“We are very happy with Mauricio’s thesis because is the first one in our Neuroscience area. (…) He started working with us before he joined the DCCS and he always showed a great interest in interdisciplinary studies and, in particular, in his thesis he focused not only on complex human behaviors, decision making and social dilemmas, but he also incorporated neurobiological aspects to the study of these phenomena and that is very interesting, because it is the first thesis that incorporates them, and that it is a very important area of our Center and our PhD program”, says Dr. Pablo Billeke regarding Mauricio Aspé Sánchez’s research. 

For his part, Wladimir López (PUC), thanked for the invitation to be part of “this beautiful and interesting work”, whose results have been “widely discussed, so we already have an important advance”. 

“Thanks to my Commission, to Pablo, to everyone. It has passed several years now and I have learned a lot. You have always been concerned and open to all kinds of questions, at any time. Thank you for everything. With my colleagues we have forged a relationship of friendship and I have had a great time and they have helped me too”, declared Dr. Aspé at the end of his presentation. 

The defence was attended by the Pro-chancellor and Vice-chancellor for Postgraduate Studies, Continuing Education and Extension, Ernesto Silva; the Dean of the Faculty of Government, Eugenio Guzmán; the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Government, Rodrigo Arellano; the Director of Research and Doctorates, Denise Saint-Jean; the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, Teresita Serrano; the Director of the Doctorate in Social Complexity Sciences, Jorge Fábrega; the Director of the Research Center in Social Complexity, Carlos Rodríguez-Sickert; the Director of the Laboratory of Social Neuroscience and Neuromodulation, Pablo Billeke; as well as Wladimir López, external evaluator of Dr. Aspé, from the Faculty of Psychology of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, together with researchers from the Research Center in Social Complexity, and about twenty DCCS students and guests. 

About the new PhD in Social Complexity Sciences

In 2015, Mauricio joined the PhD in Social Complexity Sciences, as part of the second generation of PhD students. He is a psychologist by profession from the University of Valparaiso and holds a PhD. in Sciences, mention in Neurosciences from the same University. His areas of research are: Game Theory, Cooperative Behavior, Genetics, Brain Dynamics, Complex Networks and Philosophy of Mind. 

His papers include: “Oxytocin and Vasopressin Receptor Gene Polymorphisms: Role in Social and Psychiatric Traits” and “Unmasking Reciprocity: Behavioral components and neural correlates of human trustworthiness”.