Scott Blain

Scott Blain graduated in 2016 and was a cognitive studies major, researcher, and pianist during his time at Vanderbilt University. His research focused on how individual differences in experience, emotion, and embodiment impact the way humans perceive and interface with the social world. His work seeks to transcend traditional diagnostic categories and levels of analysis, addressing a variety of questions: How are music, language, and social cognition related? How do alexithymia and anxiety modulate social cognition? When do the connections between physiology and cognition break down? How can we better predict and influence pro-/anti-social behavior? 

Scott collaborated with Dr. Sohee Park, Dr. Blythe Corbett, and Dr. Reyna Gordon. In the Music Cognition Lab, he developed an auditory working memory task for an EEG study on children with SLI and played an instrumental role in the Program for Music, Mind, and Society through social media and public dissemination efforts. 

Scott is now a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota.