A few days ago, Iran began multilateral talks in Vienna in search of a compromise about its nuclear ambitions. I’m no expert on international politics, but I’m sure that these vital negotiations will be influenced by the history of the relationships between the countries involved, the state of nuclear proliferation around the world, as well as by local political factors in Iran and its region. Psychology will also come into play in terms of the negotiation partners’ perceptions about what’s fair, their interpretations of historical events and their beliefs about the future. Recent research into the psychology of morality, fairness, punishment and cooperation will be especially relevant.

In stark contrast, I’m not convinced that findings from contemporary neuroscience have any relevance to our understanding of these negotiations whatsoever. There are interesting papers on the neural correlates of fairness judgments, rejection, cooperation and revenge, but I don’t believe they add practical insights for the way these negotiations will be conducted or understood. So I was shocked and amused to discover that last month The Atlantic published an article, apparently in all seriousness, headlined: “The Neuroscience Guide to Negotiations With Iran,” and subtitled: “Wondering whether the historic nuclear talks will succeed or fail? Study the brain.”

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