cmg

Social cognition & human–AI interaction

Carl Michael
Galang.PhD

Postdoctoral Research FellowMcMaster Digital Transformation Research Centre
DeGroote School of Business

Understanding other minds.
Human or otherwise.

I'm a cognitive scientist and information systems researcher studying how we relate to one another and to artificial intelligence.

Explore my work View my CV

01 / Research

The social brain,
in a changing world.

My work asks how we understand other minds, experience control over our actions, and respond to the people and technologies around us.

At McMaster, I work with Prof. Milena Head and Prof. Khaled Hassanein at the DeGroote School of Business, bringing cognitive science, information systems, and human–AI interaction research into conversation.

Empathy &
social cognition

How we respond to others’ experiences, including pain, and how social context shapes those responses.

Agency &
imitation

How we experience our own actions, coordinate with others, and come to feel in control, individually and together.

Human–AI
interaction

How our cognition is affected by AI use, how we mentally represent AI as social agents, and how we can optimize human–AI interactions.

Across methods

EEG · TMS · Psychophysiology · Behavioural experiments · Quantitative modeling

02 / Publications

Ideas, investigated.

Google Scholar

Journal articles, followed by preprints and work in progress.

  1. 2026

    Social Exclusion Does Not Affect Interval Estimation of Action-Outcome Events.

    Galang, C.M., Biswas, M., Luk, M., & Brass, M.

    Consciousness and Cognition, 144, 104116.

    Read paper
  2. 2026

    The intentional stance does not modulate the automatic imitation bias against robots.

    Galang, C.M., Hassanein, K., & Head, M.

    Acta Psychologica, 107366.

    Read paper
  3. 2026

    Us and Them: Anticipated Imitation Between Groups.

    Marschner, M., Galang, C.M., & Brass, M.

    Acta Psychologica, 267, 107058.

    Read paper
  4. 2026

    Investigating the analytical robustness of the social and behavioural sciences.

    Aczel, B., Szaszi, B., Clelland, H. T., Kovacs, M., Schulz-Kümpel, H., Holzmeister, F., … , Galang, C.M., … & Nosek, B. A.

    Nature, 652, 135-142.

    Read paper
  5. 2025

    Sense of Agency during Group Control.

    Galang, C.M., Cracco, E., Chirkov, V., Obhi, S.S., & Brass, M.

    Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 154(12), 3392-3404.

    Read paper
  6. 2025

    Motor preparation during pain observation does not influence event-related Mu/Beta desynchronization.

    Galang, C.M., Jenkins, M., Sanders, T., Vijh, R., & Obhi, S.S.

    Cortex, 193, 160-170.

    Read paper
  7. 2025

    Moderate Manipulation to Somatosensory Feedback Does Not Affect Libet-style Intentional Action.

    Shum, Y.H., Galang, C.M., & Brass, M.

    Psychological Research, 89(140), 1-13.

    Read paper
  8. 2025

    Preliminary evidence for a selective agency-boosting effect of psychosocial stress.

    Edwards, S., Galang, C.M., Fung, K., Knight, A., & Obhi, S.S.

    Consciousness and Cognition, 131, 103872.

    Read paper
  9. 2025

    Temporal binding during deliberate rule breaking.

    Galang, C.M., Akan, A., Pfister, R., & Brass, M.

    Consciousness and Cognition, 130, 103851.

    Read paper
Earlier publications 2017–2024 · 19 papers
  1. 2024

    Using a Veto Paradigm to Investigate the Decision Models in Explaining Libet-style Experiments.

    Shum, Y.H., Galang, C.M., & Brass, M.

    Consciousness and Cognition, 124, 103732.

    Read paper
  2. 2024

    Anticipated imitation of multiple agents.

    Galang, C.M., Cracco, E., & Brass, M.

    Cognition, 249, 105831.

    Read paper
  3. 2024

    Defining key concepts for mental state attribution.

    Quesque, F., Apperly, I, Baillargeon, R., [...], Galang, C.M., [...], & Brass, M.

    Communications Psychology, 2(29), 1-5.

    Read paper
  4. 2022

    Empathic pain observation does not influence automatic imitation in an online setting.

    Galang, C.M. & Obhi, S.S.

    Experimental Brain Research, 241, 263-276.

    Read paper
  5. 2022

    The Sense of Agency for Brain Disorders: A Comprehensive Review and Proposed Framework.

    Malik, R., Galang, C.M., & Finger, E.

    Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 139, 104759.

    Read paper
  6. 2022

    Cognitive Science in a Nutshell.

    Mekik, C.S. & Galang, C.M.

    Cognitive Science, 46, e13179.

    Read paper
  7. 2021

    Blatant Dehumanization is Not Influenced by Dual Identity Labels: Evidence from the Canadian Context.

    Galang, C.M., Ku, M., & Obhi, S.S.

    International Journal of Psychological Studies, 13(4), 62-74.

    Read paper
  8. 2021

    Studying Sense of Agency Online: Testing the robustness of the intentional binding effect using an online sample.

    Galang, C.M., Malik, R., Kinley, I., & Obhi, S.S.

    Consciousness and Cognition, 95, 103217.

    Read paper
  9. 2021

    Exploring the relationship between social power and the ERP components of empathy for pain.

    Galang, C.M., Jenkins, M., Fahim, G., & Obhi, S.S.

    Social Neuroscience, 16, 174-188.

    Read paper
  10. 2021

    Investigating the effects of pain observation on approach and withdrawal actions.

    Galang, C.M., Pichtikova, M., Sanders, T., & Obhi, S.S.

    Experimental Brain Research, 239, 847-856.

    Read paper
  11. 2021

    To Move or Not to Move: Motor cortical output is enhanced during pain observation regardless of motor preparation state.

    Galang, C.M. & Obhi, S.S.

    Journal of Neurophysiology, 125, 599-605.

    Read paper
  12. 2021

    Exploring the Relationship Between Empathy, Self-Construal Style, and Self-Reported Social Distancing Tendencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Galang, C.M., Johnson, D., & Obhi, S.S.

    Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 588934.

    Read paper
  13. 2020

    Automatic imitation does not predict levels of generosity during a modified dictator game.

    Galang, C.M. & Obhi, S.S.

    Acta Psychologica, 204, 103022.

    Read paper
  14. 2020

    Exploring the Effects of Visual Perspective on the ERP Components of Empathy for Pain.

    Galang, C.M., Jenkins, M., & Obhi, S.S.

    Social Neuroscience, 15(2), 186-198.

    Read paper
  15. 2020

    Please Empathize! Instructions to empathize strengthen response facilitation after pain observation.

    Galang, C.M. & Obhi, S.S.

    Cognition and Emotion, 34(2), 316-328.

    Read paper
  16. 2019

    Social Power and Frontal Alpha Asymmetry.

    Galang, C.M. & Obhi, S.S.

    Cognitive Neuroscience, 10(1), 44-56.

    Read paper
  17. 2018

    The effect of scrambling upright and inverted faces on the N170.

    Civile, C., Elchlepp, H., McLaren, R., Galang, C.M., Lavric, A., & McLaren, I.P.L.

    Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 71(11), 2464-2476.

    Read paper
  18. 2017

    Observing painful events in others leads to a temporally extended general response facilitation in the self.

    Galang, C.M., Naish, K.R., Arbabi, K., & Obhi, S.S.

    Experimental Brain Research, 235(11), 3469-3477.

    Read paper
  19. 2017

    Effects of intentional movement preparation on response times to symbolic and imitative cues.

    Naish, K.R., Rajagobal, A., Galang, C.M., Sartori, L., & Obhi, S.S.

    Experimental Brain Research, 235(3), 753-61.

    Read paper

Preprints

Before peer review
  1. 2026

    The face of ChatGPT: Using reverse correlation to reveal mental representations of AI.

    Galang, C.M., Hassanein, K., Head, M., & Obhi, S.S.

    Preprint
  2. 2026

    Multimodal Large Language Models Encode Implicit Gender Bias.

    Nisanci, S., Galang, C.M., & Brass, M.

    Preprint
  3. 2026

    When the clock lies: Intention reports can be biased by authoritative suggestion.

    Dominik, T., Shum, Y.H., Galang, C.M., & Brass, M.

    Preprint
  4. 2019

    Introducing a Framework for Open and Reproducible Research Training (FORRT).

    Azevedo, F., Parsons, S., Micheli, L., Strand, J., Rinke, E., …, Galang, C.M., … & FORRT

    Preprint

Under review

In preparation 4 projects

  • Development and validation of the Epistemic Stance Test for generative AI (EST-GenAI).

    Galang, C.M., Hassanein, K., Head, M., & Mekik, S.C.

  • Intentional Binding & the Sense of Agency.

    Galang, C.M., Malik, R., Obhi, S.S., & Brass, M.

  • Stimulating Your Voluntariness: What Can Brain Stimulation Studies Tell Us about Intention and Voluntary Behaviors?

    Shum, Y.H., Galang, C.M., & Brass, M.

  • Gender Cues Influence Attribution of Cause and Effect.

    Saba, S., Galang, C.M., & Brass

03 / Get in touch

Let’s talk minds.

For research, related materials, or a conversation about the work.

galangc@mcmaster.ca
Google Scholar ↗ORCID ↗Curriculum vitae ↗