Dean Mobbs
Dean Mobbs
Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience; Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair, Caltech Brain Imaging Center; Director, Caltech Brain Imaging Center
B.S., University of Birmingham, 1999; Ph.D., University College London, 2008. Assistant Professor, Caltech, 2016-20; Professor, 2020-; Chen Scholar, 2019-21; Davis Leadership Chair, 2021-; Director, 2021-.
Profile
Dean Mobbs is interested in the intersection of behavioral ecology, economics, emotion, and social psychology. By understanding the neural, computational, and behavioral dynamics of human social and emotional experiences, his lab develops theoretical models that merge those fields. Using brain-imaging, computational modeling and novel behavioral techniques, his lab is probing the neurobiological systems responsible for fear and anxiety, revealing how people learn to control their fears, and how anxiety and psychiatric disorders disrupt those processes. His research also focuses on the interplay between social interaction, protection, and emotion—how fear can depend on whether you're alone or in a group (e.g. fear dilution).
Prior to Caltech, Mobbs was an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University and a research assistant at Stanford University. His awards include the APS Janet Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions (2015) and the NARSAD Young Investigator Award (2015). He is a life fellow of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge. In 2019, he was named a Chen Scholar at the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech.
Research Summary
Social, Computational, and Affective Neuroscience; Neuroecology and Neurophilosophy; Social and Decision Neuroscience
Selected Awards
- Chen Scholar, 2019–2021
- APS Fellow, 2015–present
- APS Janet Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions, 2015
- NARSAD Young Investigator Award, 2015
- Life Fellow of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge, 2012–present
Caltech Affiliations
- Caltech Brain Imaging Center (CBIC)
- T&C Chen Center for Social and Decision Neuroscience
- Computation and Neural Systems, program organized jointly by the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering and the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy.
Featured News
Coming to a Consensus During Risky Decision-Making
July 02, 2026
Dean Mobbs and researchers from his lab have found an association between how people navigate different preferences and split the responsibility for shared outcomes when making risky choices, and their willingness to compromise.
Understanding Online Toxicity
August 25, 2024
A new paper identifies the potential mechanisms through which social media can create unhealthy modes of human interaction.
Policy in Progress
Read more news
January 04, 2024
There is a long tradition of HSS scholars—motivated by social, economic, and political problems and opportunities—conducting research that has an impact on public policy.
Selected Publications
- Tashjian, S. M., Cussen, J., Deng, W., Zhang, B., and Mobbs, D. (2025). Subregions in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex integrate threat and protective information to meta-represent safety. PLoS Biology. 23 (1), e3002986.
- Zhang, H., Cheng, J., Hu, K., Qi, S., Liu, Q., Yao, Y., Mobbs, D., Wu, H. (2025). Intracranial dissection of the human escape circuits. Nature Communications. 16 (1), 5520.
- Kim, J., Tashjian, S.M., Mobbs, D. (2024). The human hypothalamus coordinates switching between different survival actions. PLoS-Biology. 22, 6 e3002624.
- Pandita, S., Garg, K., Zhang, J., Mobbs, D. (2024). Three Roots of Online Toxicity: Disembodied, Accountability, and Disinhibition. Trends in Cognitive Science. 28 (9), 814-828.
- Mobbs, D., *Wise, T., Tashjian, S. M., Zhang, J., Friston, K., and Headley, D. (2024). Survival in a world of complex dangers. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. vol. 167; 105924.
- Wise, T., Charpentier, C., Dayan, P., Mobbs, D. (2023). Interactive cognitive maps support flexible behavior under threat. Cell Reports. 42. 8.
- Tashjian, S.M., Wise, T., Mobbs, D. (2022). Increased model-based control for acquiring protection. PLoS Computational Biology. 18 (12), e1010805.
- Zbozinek, T., Wise, T., Qi, S., Perez, O., Fanselow, M., and Mobbs, D. (2022). Ambiguity Drives Higher-Order Pavlovian Learning. PLoS Computational Biology. 18 (9), e1010410.
- Silston, B., Wise, T., Qi, S., Sui, X., Dayan, P., and Mobbs, D. (2021). Neural encoding of socially adjusted value during competitive and hazardous foraging. Nature Communications. 12 (1) 1-11.
- Tashjian, S.M., Zbozinek, T., Mobbs, D. (2021). A Decision Architecture for Safety Computations. Trends in Cognitive Science. 25; 5; 342-354.
- Mobbs, D., Wise, T., Suthana, N., Guzman, N., Kriegeskorte, N., Leibo, J., (2021). The Promises and Challenges of Human Computational Ethology. Neuron. 109; 14; 2224-2238.
- Mobbs, D., Headley, D., Ding, W., Dayan, P. (2020). Space, Time, and Fear: Survival Computations Along Defensive Circuits. 24, 228-24; Trends in Cognitive Science. 24; 3; 228-241. Cover Image.
- Fung, B., Qi, S., Hassabis, D., Daw, N., Mobbs, D. (2019). Slow escape decisions are swayed by trait anxiety. Nature: Human Behavior. 3, 702-708. Perspective by Neil McNaughton.
- Mobbs, D, Adolphs, R., Feldman-Barrett, L. Faneslow, M., LeDoux, J., Ressler, K., and Tye, K. (2019). Viewpoint: Approaches to defining and investigating fear. Nature Neuroscience. 22, 1205-1216.
- Mobbs, D, Trimmer, P., Blumstein, D.T., Dayan, P. (2018). Foraging for foundations in decision neuroscience: Insights from ethology. Nature Reviews: Neuroscience. 19, 419-427. Cover Image.
- Qi, S., Hassabis, D., Sun, J., Guo, F., Daw, N., and Mobbs, D. (2018). How Cognitive and Reactive Fear Circuits Optimize Escape Decisions in Humans. PNAS. 115 (12), 3186-3191.
- Camerer, C., and Mobbs, D. (2017). Differences in brain activity and behavior during hypothetical and real choices. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
- Mobbs, D., Hassabis, D. Yu, R., Chu, C., Rushworth, M., Boorman, E., Dalgleish, T. (2013). Foraging under competition: The neural basis of input matching in humans. Journal of Neuroscience. *Equal Authors
- Mobbs, D., Yu, R., Rowe, J., Eich, H., Feldmanhall, O., Dalgleish, T. (2010). Neural activity associated with monitoring the oscillating threat value of a Tarantula. PNAS. 107: 20582-6. Top 10 PNAS papers of 2010.
- Mobbs, D., Hassabis, D., Seymour, B., Marchant, J., Weiskopf, N., Dolan, R.J., Frith, C.D. (2009). Choking on the money: Incentive-induced performance decrements in a reward pursuit task. Psychological Science. 20 (8), 955.
- Mobbs, D., Meyer, M., Yu, R., Passamonti, L., Seymour, B.J., Calder A.J., Schweizer, S., Frith, C.D., Dalgleish, T. (2009). A Key Role for Similarity in Vicarious Reward. Science. 324, 900.
- Mobbs, D., Petrovic, P., Marchant, J., Hassabis, D., Seymour, B., Weiskopf, N., Dolan, R.J., Frith, C.D (2007). When Fear is Near: Threat Imminence Elicits Prefrontal-Periaqueductal Grey Shifts in Humans. Science. 317; 1079-1083. Perspective by Steve Maren.