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Mujcic R, Oswald AJ. Is envy harmful to a society's psychological health and wellbeing? A longitudinal study of 18,000 adults. Soc Sci Med 2017; 198:103-111. [PMID: 29316510 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2017] [Revised: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Nearly 100 years ago, the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell warned of the social dangers of widespread envy. One view of modern society is that it is systematically developing a set of institutions -- such as social media and new forms of advertising -- that make people feel inadequate and envious of others. If so, how might that be influencing the psychological health of our citizens? This paper reports the first large-scale longitudinal research into envy and its possible repercussions. The paper studies 18,000 randomly selected individuals over the years 2005, 2009, and 2013. Using measures of SF-36 mental health and psychological well-being, four main conclusions emerge. First, the young are especially susceptible. Levels of envy fall as people grow older. This longitudinal finding is consistent with a cross-sectional pattern noted recently by Nicole E. Henniger and Christine R. Harris, and with the theory of socioemotional regulation suggested by scholars such as Laura L. Carstensen. Second, using fixed-effects equations and prospective analysis, the analysis reveals that envy today is a powerful predictor of worse SF-36 mental health and well-being in the future. A change from the lowest to the highest level of envy, for example, is associated with a worsening of SF-36 mental health by approximately half a standard deviation (p < .001). Third, no evidence is found for the idea that envy acts as a useful motivator. Greater envy is associated with slower -- not higher -- growth of psychological well-being in the future. Nor is envy a predictor of later economic success. Fourth, the longitudinal decline of envy leaves unaltered a U-shaped age pattern of well-being from age 20 to age 70. These results are consistent with the idea that society should be concerned about institutions that stimulate large-scale envy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Redzo Mujcic
- Institute for Markets and Strategy,Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (WU), 1020 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Andrew J Oswald
- Behavioral Science and Economics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK; IZA Institute, Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 5-9, D-53113 Bonn, Germany.
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102
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Jin W, Xiang Y, Lei M. The Deeper the Love, the Deeper the Hate. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1940. [PMID: 29270137 PMCID: PMC5725944 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2017] [Accepted: 10/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Love and hate are basic human affects. Previous research has focused on the classification, functions, and other aspects of these two affects. However, few studies have been conducted on the relationship between love and hate. The present study investigated whether similarity within romantic partners was associated with greater feelings of love in the absence of betrayal, and greater hate induced in the presence of betrayal by using vignettes to induce love and hate in a sample of 59 young adults. The results showed that people who shared similar values and interests with the target persons were more likely to experience stronger love. Additionally, stronger feelings of love were associated with greater hate after the relationship was broken, suggesting a link between romantic love and hate. Our study revealed a complex picture of love and hate. People have different emotional reactions toward different target persons in the context of romantic love and hate. If one loves someone deeply and sometimes hates that person, the feeling of love may still be dominant in the context of betrayal. However, if one does not love that person, hate will be a much stronger feeling than love.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wang Jin
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanhui Xiang
- Cognition and Human Behavior Key Laboratory of Hunan, Department of Psychology, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Mo Lei
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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103
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Santamaría-García H, Baez S, Reyes P, Santamaría-García JA, Santacruz-Escudero JM, Matallana D, Arévalo A, Sigman M, García AM, Ibáñez A. A lesion model of envy and Schadenfreude: legal, deservingness and moral dimensions as revealed by neurodegeneration. Brain 2017; 140:3357-3377. [PMID: 29112719 PMCID: PMC5841144 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awx269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of moral emotions (i.e. Schadenfreude and envy) is critical to understand the ecological complexity of everyday interactions between cognitive, affective, and social cognition processes. Most previous studies in this area have used correlational imaging techniques and framed Schadenfreude and envy as unified and monolithic emotional domains. Here, we profit from a relevant neurodegeneration model to disentangle the brain regions engaged in three dimensions of Schadenfreude and envy: deservingness, morality, and legality. We tested a group of patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), patients with Alzheimer’s disease, as a contrastive neurodegeneration model, and healthy controls on a novel task highlighting each of these dimensions in scenarios eliciting Schadenfreude and envy. Compared with the Alzheimer’s disease and control groups, patients with bvFTD obtained significantly higher scores on all dimensions for both emotions. Correlational analyses revealed an association between envy and Schadenfreude scores and greater deficits in social cognition, inhibitory control, and behaviour disturbances in bvFTD patients. Brain anatomy findings (restricted to bvFTD and controls) confirmed the partially dissociable nature of the moral emotions’ experiences and highlighted the importance of socio-moral brain areas in processing those emotions. In all subjects, an association emerged between Schadenfreude and the ventral striatum, and between envy and the anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, the results supported an association between scores for moral and legal transgression and the morphology of areas implicated in emotional appraisal, including the amygdala and the parahippocampus. By contrast, bvFTD patients exhibited a negative association between increased Schadenfreude and envy across dimensions and critical regions supporting social-value rewards and social-moral processes (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, angular gyrus and precuneus). Together, this study provides lesion-based evidence for the multidimensional nature of the emotional experiences of envy and Schadenfreude. Our results offer new insights into the mechanisms subsuming complex emotions and moral cognition in neurodegeneration. Moreover, this study presents the exacerbation of envy and Schadenfreude as a new potential hallmark of bvFTD that could impact in diagnosis and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hernando Santamaría-García
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición. Intellectus-Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá Colombia.,Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departments of Physiology, Psychiatry and Aging Institute Bogotá, Colombia.,Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Grupo de Investigación en Cerebro y Cognición Social, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Sandra Baez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Grupo de Investigación en Cerebro y Cognición Social, Bogotá, Colombia.,Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Pablo Reyes
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición. Intellectus-Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá Colombia.,Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departments of Physiology, Psychiatry and Aging Institute Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - José M Santacruz-Escudero
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición. Intellectus-Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá Colombia.,Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departments of Physiology, Psychiatry and Aging Institute Bogotá, Colombia.,Departament de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Diana Matallana
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición. Intellectus-Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá Colombia.,Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departments of Physiology, Psychiatry and Aging Institute Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Analía Arévalo
- Departamento de Neurologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mariano Sigman
- Universidad Torcuato di Tella, Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adolfo M García
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia.,Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, Australia
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104
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105
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Abstract
The present study investigated the relationship between Machiavellianism, envy, competition, and schadenfreude in women's same-sex friendships. Women ( N = 133) completed an online questionnaire measuring Machiavellianism, envy, competition, and three author-generated vignettes measuring expressed schadenfreude in relation to a same-sex friend. Women with higher levels of Machiavellianism expressed greater feelings of pleasure in response to their same-sex friend's misfortunes in a romantic relationship and their physical appearance but not in relation to academic abilities. Envy predicted feelings of schadenfreude in academic and romantic relationships while competition predicted feelings of schadenfreude in all three scenarios. Future research should explore how characteristics of the target and different forms of envy may influence responses to a friend's misfortune in individuals with higher levels of Machiavellianism.
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106
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Cikara M, Bruneau EG, Saxe RR. Us and Them: Intergroup Failures of Empathy. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/0963721411408713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 318] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
People are often motivated to increase others' positive experiences and to alleviate others' suffering. These tendencies to care about and help one another form the foundation of human society. When the target is an outgroup member, however, people may have powerful motivations not to care about or help that “other.” In such cases, empathic responses are rare and fragile; it is easy to disrupt the chain from perception of suffering to motivation to alleviate the suffering to actual helping. We highlight recent interdisciplinary research demonstrating that outgroup members' suffering elicits dampened empathic responses as compared to ingroup members' suffering. We consider an alternative to empathy in the context of intergroup competition: schadenfreude—pleasure at others' pain. Finally, we review recent investigations of intergroup-conflict interventions that attempt to increase empathy for outgroups. We propose that researchers across the range of psychological sciences stand to gain a better understanding of the foundations of empathy by studying its limitations.
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107
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Monfardini E, Reynaud AJ, Prado J, Meunier M. Social modulation of cognition: Lessons from rhesus macaques relevant to education. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 82:45-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Revised: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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108
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Abraham E, Gilam G, Kanat-Maymon Y, Jacob Y, Zagoory-Sharon O, Hendler T, Feldman R. The Human Coparental Bond Implicates Distinct Corticostriatal Pathways: Longitudinal Impact on Family Formation and Child Well-Being. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:2301-2313. [PMID: 28401924 PMCID: PMC5645748 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2017.71] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Revised: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Alloparental care, the cooperative care of offspring by group members other than the biological mother, has been widely practiced since early hominin evolution to increase infant survival and thriving. The coparental bond-a relationship of solidarity and commitment between two adults who join their effort to care for children-is a central contributor to children's well-being and sociality; yet, the neural basis of coparenting has not been studied in humans. Here, we followed 84 first-time co-parents (42 couples) across the first 6 years of family formation, including opposite-sex and same-sex couples, measured brain response to coparental stimuli, observed collaborative and undermining coparental behaviors in infancy and preschool, assayed oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP), and measured coparenting and child behavior problems at 6 years. Across family types, coparental stimuli activated the striatum, specifically the ventral striatum and caudate, striatal nodes implicated in motivational goal-directed social behavior. Psychophysiological interaction analysis indicated that both nodes were functionally coupled with the vmPFC in support of the human coparental bond and this connectivity was stronger as collaborative coparental behavior increased. Furthermore, caudate functional connectivity patterns differentiated distinct corticostriatal pathways associated with two stable coparental behavioral styles; stronger caudate-vmPFC connectivity was associated with more collaborative coparenting and was linked to OT, whereas a stronger caudate-dACC connectivity was associated with increase in undermining coparenting and was related to AVP. Finally, dyadic path-analysis model indicated that the parental caudate-vmPFC connectivity in infancy predicted lower child externalizing symptoms at 6 years as mediated by collaborative coparenting in preschool. Findings indicate that the coparental bond is underpinned by striatal activations and corticostriatal connectivity similar to other human affiliative bonds; highlight specific corticostriatal pathways as defining distinct coparental orientations that underpin family life; chart brain-hormone-behavior constellations for the mature, child-orientated coparental bond; and demonstrate the flexibility of this bond across family constellations and its unique contribution to child well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eyal Abraham
- Department of Psychology and The Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Gadi Gilam
- Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute of Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Yael Jacob
- Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute of Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Orna Zagoory-Sharon
- Department of Psychology and The Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Talma Hendler
- Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute of Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Department of Psychology and The Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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109
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110
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Lee K, Duffy MK, Scott KL, Schippers MC. The experience of being envied at work: How being envied shapes employee feelings and motivation. PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/peps.12251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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111
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Zheng Y, Yang Z, Jin C, Qi Y, Liu X. The Influence of Emotion on Fairness-Related Decision Making: A Critical Review of Theories and Evidence. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1592. [PMID: 28974937 PMCID: PMC5610693 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fairness-related decision making is an important issue in the field of decision making. Traditional theories emphasize the roles of inequity aversion and reciprocity, whereas recent research increasingly shows that emotion plays a critical role in this type of decision making. In this review, we summarize the influences of three types of emotions (i.e., the integral emotion experienced at the time of decision making, the incidental emotion aroused by a task-unrelated dispositional or situational source, and the interaction of emotion and cognition) on fairness-related decision making. Specifically, we first introduce three dominant theories that describe how emotion may influence fairness-related decision making (i.e., the wounded pride/spite model, affect infusion model, and dual-process model). Next, we collect behavioral and neural evidence for and against these theories. Finally, we propose that future research on fairness-related decision making should focus on inducing incidental social emotion, avoiding irrelevant emotion when regulating, exploring the individual differences in emotional dispositions, and strengthening the ecological validity of the paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya Zheng
- Department of Psychology, Dalian Medical UniversityDalian, China
| | - Zhong Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
| | - Chunlan Jin
- School of Foreign Languages, East China University of Science and TechnologyShanghai, China
| | - Yue Qi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
| | - Xun Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
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112
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Prochazkova E, Kret ME. Connecting minds and sharing emotions through mimicry: A neurocognitive model of emotional contagion. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 80:99-114. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Revised: 04/25/2017] [Accepted: 05/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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113
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Chiesa PA, Liuzza MT, Macaluso E, Aglioti SM. Brain activity induced by implicit processing of others' pain and pleasure. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:5562-5576. [PMID: 28833833 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2016] [Revised: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies indicate that both explicit and implicit processing of affectively charged stimuli may be reflected in specific behavioural markers and physiological signatures. Here, we investigated whether the pleasantness ratings of a neutral target were affected by the subliminal perception of a painful (a slap) or pleasant (a caress) touch delivered to others. In particular, we combined the continuous flash suppression technique with the affective misattribution procedure to explore subliminal processing of observed pain and pleasure in others. Results show that participants rated the neutral target as more or less likeable depending on whether they were subliminally primed with the pleasant or painful facial expression, respectively. The fMRI activity associated with painful and pleasant subliminal priming was mainly present in the anterior prefrontal cortex and the primary sensorimotor cortex, respectively. Thus, our study provides behavioural and neuro-physiological evidence that: (i) emotional reactivity toward positive or negative states of others can occur at an entirely subliminal level; (ii) specific neural substrates underpin reactivity to positive- and negative-valence of social emotions. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5562-5576, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Andrea Chiesa
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.,IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Tullio Liuzza
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.,IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Emiliano Macaluso
- IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,ImpAct Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (UCBL1, INSERM 1028, CNRS 5292), Lyon, France
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.,IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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114
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Independent Neural Computation of Value from Other People's Confidence. J Neurosci 2017; 37:673-684. [PMID: 28100748 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4490-15.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Revised: 11/04/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Expectation of reward can be shaped by the observation of actions and expressions of other people in one's environment. A person's apparent confidence in the likely reward of an action, for instance, makes qualities of their evidence, not observed directly, socially accessible. This strategy is computationally distinguished from associative learning methods that rely on direct observation, by its use of inference from indirect evidence. In twenty-three healthy human subjects, we isolated effects of first-hand experience, other people's choices, and the mediating effect of their confidence, on decision-making and neural correlates of value within ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Value derived from first-hand experience and other people's choices (regardless of confidence) were indiscriminately represented across vmPFC. However, value computed from agent choices weighted by their associated confidence was represented with specificity for ventromedial area 10. This pattern corresponds to shifts of connectivity and overlapping cognitive processes along a posterior-anterior vmPFC axis. Task behavior and self-reported self-reliance for decision-making in other social contexts correlated. The tendency to conform in other social contexts corresponded to increased activation in cortical regions previously shown to respond to social conflict in proportion to subsequent conformity (Campbell-Meiklejohn et al., 2010). The tendency to self-monitor predicted a selectively enhanced response to accordance with others in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ). The findings anatomically decompose vmPFC value representations according to computational requirements and provide biological insight into the social transmission of preference and reassurance gained from the confidence of others. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Decades of research have provided evidence that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) signals the satisfaction we expect from imminent actions. However, we have a surprisingly modest understanding of the organization of value across this substantial and varied region. This study finds that using cues of the reliability of other peoples' knowledge to enhance expectation of personal success generates value correlates that are anatomically distinct from those concurrently computed from direct, personal experience. This suggests that representation of decision values in vmPFC is suborganized according to the underlying computation, consistent with what we know about the anatomical heterogeneity of the region. These results also provide insight into the observational learning process by which someone else's confidence can sway and reassure our choices.
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115
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Yu H, Duan Y, Zhou X. Guilt in the eyes: Eye movement and physiological evidence for guilt-induced social avoidance. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2017.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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116
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Interpretation of physiological indicators of motivation: Caveats and recommendations. Int J Psychophysiol 2017; 119:4-10. [PMID: 28442270 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Revised: 04/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Motivation scientists employing physiological measures to gather information about motivation-related states are at risk of committing two fundamental errors: overstating the inferences that can be drawn from their physiological measures and circular reasoning. We critically discuss two complementary approaches, Cacioppo and colleagues' model of psychophysiological relations and construct validation theory, to highlight the conditions under which these errors are committed and provide guidance on how to avoid them. In particular, we demonstrate that the direct inference from changes in a physiological measure to changes in a motivation-related state requires the demonstration that the measure is not related to other relevant psychological states. We also point out that circular reasoning can be avoided by separating the definition of the motivation-related state from the hypotheses that are empirically tested.
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117
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Chen X, Zheng T, Han L, Chang Y, Luo Y. The neural dynamics underlying the interpersonal effects of emotional expression on decision making. Sci Rep 2017; 7:46651. [PMID: 28425491 PMCID: PMC5397974 DOI: 10.1038/srep46651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although numerous studies explore the effects of emotion on decision-making, the existing research has mainly focused on the influence of intrapersonal emotions, leaving the influence of one person’s emotions on another’s decisions underestimated. To specify how interpersonal emotions shape decision-making and delineate the underlying neural dynamics involved, the present study examined brain responses to utilitarian feedback combined with angry or happy faces in competitive and cooperative contexts. Behavioral results showed that participants responded slower following losses than wins when competitors express happiness but responded faster following losses than wins when cooperators express anger. Importantly, angry faces in competitive context reversed the differentiation pattern of feedback-related negativity (FRN) between losses and wins and diminished the difference between losses and wins on both P300 and theta power, but only diminished the difference on FRN between losses and wins in cooperative context. However, when partner displays happiness, losses versus wins elicited larger FRN and theta power in competitive context but smaller P300 in both contexts. These results suggest that interpersonal emotions shape decisions during both automatic motivational salience valuation (FRN) and conscious cognitive appraisal (P300) stages of processing, in which different emotional expressions exert interpersonal influence through different routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuhai Chen
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China.,Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Tingting Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Lingzi Han
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Yingchao Chang
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Yangmei Luo
- Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
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118
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Burklund LJ, Torre JB, Lieberman MD, Taylor SE, Craske MG. Neural responses to social threat and predictors of cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in social anxiety disorder. Psychiatry Res 2017; 261:52-64. [PMID: 28129556 PMCID: PMC5435374 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2015] [Revised: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has often highlighted hyperactivity in emotion regions to simple, static social threat cues in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Investigation of the neurobiology of SAD using more naturalistic paradigms can further reveal underlying mechanisms and how these relate to clinical outcomes. We used fMRI to investigate responses to novel dynamic rejection stimuli in individuals with SAD (N=70) and healthy controls (HC; N=17), and whether these responses predicted treatment outcomes following cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Both HC and SAD groups reported greater distress to rejection compared to neutral social stimuli. At the neural level, HCs exhibited greater activations in social pain/rejection regions, including dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, to rejection stimuli. The SAD group evidenced a different pattern, with no differences in these rejection regions and relatively greater activations in the amygdala and other regions to neutral stimuli. Greater responses in anterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala to rejection vs. neutral stimuli predicted better CBT outcomes. In contrast, enhanced activity in sensory-focused posterior insula predicted ACT responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa J Burklund
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States.
| | - Jared B Torre
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States
| | - Matthew D Lieberman
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States
| | - Shelley E Taylor
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States
| | - Michelle G Craske
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States
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119
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Xiang Y, Zhao S, Wang H, Wu Q, Kong F, Mo L. Examining brain structures associated with dispositional envy and the mediation role of emotional intelligence. Sci Rep 2017; 7:39947. [PMID: 28176785 PMCID: PMC5296859 DOI: 10.1038/srep39947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Dispositional envy is distinguished by definition and neurally from episodic envy. While the neural correlates of episodic envy have been evaluated by specific tasks in previous studies, little is known about the structural neural basis of dispositional envy. In this study, we investigated the structural neural basis of dispositional envy underlying individual differences across two independent samples comprising a total of 100 young healthy adults. Firstly, 73 subjects’ data (sample 1) was analyzed, and we assessed the association between regional gray matter volume (rGMV) and dispositional envy using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Furthermore, we explored the role of emotional intelligence in the association between GMV and dispositional envy. VBM indicated that dispositional envy was positively correlated with GMV in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and superior temporal gyrus (STG). We also found that emotional intelligence partially mediated the association between DLPFC volume and dispositional envy. These results were replicated in another independent sample (Sample 2, n = 27). These results provide the first evidence that dispositional envy exhibits a structural neural correlation with the DLPFC and STG, and give a neutral explanation for why individuals with high emotional intelligence exhibit less envy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanhui Xiang
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Sasa Zhao
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Hanlin Wang
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Qihan Wu
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Feng Kong
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Lei Mo
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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120
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Müller-Pinzler L, Krach S, Krämer UM, Paulus FM. The Social Neuroscience of Interpersonal Emotions. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2017; 30:241-256. [PMID: 26946503 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2016_437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In our daily lives, we constantly engage in reciprocal interactions with other individuals and represent ourselves in the context of our surrounding social world. Within social interactions, humans often experience interpersonal emotions such as embarrassment, shame, guilt, or pride. How interpersonal emotions are processed on the neural systems level is of major interest for social neuroscience research. While the configuration of laboratory settings in general is constraining for emotion research, recent neuroimaging investigations came up with new approaches to implement socially interactive and immersive scenarios for the real-life investigation of interpersonal emotions. These studies could show that among other brain regions the so-called mentalizing network, which is typically involved when we represent and make sense of others' states of mind, is associated with interpersonal emotions. The anterior insula/anterior cingulate cortex network at the same time processes one's own bodily arousal during such interpersonal emotional experiences. Current research aimed to explore how we make sense of others' emotional states during social interactions and investigates the modulating factors of our emotional experiences during social interactions. Understanding how interpersonal emotions are processed on the neural systems level may yield significant implications for neuropsychiatric disorders that affect social behavior such as social anxiety disorders or autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Müller-Pinzler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Social Neuroscience Lab, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Sören Krach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Social Neuroscience Lab, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Ulrike M Krämer
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Frieder M Paulus
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Social Neuroscience Lab, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany
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121
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Chapais B. Competence and the Evolutionary Origins of Status and Power in Humans. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2016; 26:161-83. [PMID: 25947621 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-015-9227-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In this paper I propose an evolutionary model of human status that expands upon an earlier model proposed by Henrich and Gil-White Evolution and Human Behavior, 22,165-196 (2001). According to their model, there are two systems of status attainment in humans-"two ways to the top": the dominance route, which involves physical intimidation, a psychology of fear and hubristic pride, and provides coercive power, and the prestige route, which involves skills and knowledge (competence), a psychology of attraction to experts and authentic pride, and translates mainly into influence. The two systems would have evolved in response to different selective pressures, with attraction to experts serving a social learning function and coinciding with the evolution of cumulative culture. In this paper I argue that (1) the only one way to the top is competence because dominance itself involves competence and confers prestige, so there is no such thing as pure dominance status; (2) dominance in primates has two components: a competitive one involving physical coercion and a cooperative one involving competence-based attraction to high-ranking individuals (proto-prestige); (3) competence grants the same general type of power (dependence-based) in humans and other primates; (4) the attractiveness of high rank in primates is homologous with the admiration of experts in humans; (5) upon the evolution of cumulative culture, the attractiveness of high rank was co-opted to generate status differentials in a vast number of culturally generated domains of activity. I also discuss, in this perspective, the origins of hubristic pride, authentic pride, and nonauthoritarian leadership.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Chapais
- Department of Anthropology, University of Montreal, CP. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3C 3J7,
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122
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Abstract
Social neuroscience studies have shown that the ventral striatum (VS), a highly reward-sensitive brain area, is activated when participants win competitive tasks. However, in these settings winning often entails both avoiding punishment and punishing the opponent. It is thus unclear whether the rewarding properties of winning are mainly associated to punishment avoidance, or if punishing the opponent can be additionally gratifying. In the present paper we explored the neurophysiological correlates of each outcome, aiming to better understand the development of aggression episodes. We previously introduced a competitive reaction time task that separates both effects: in half of the won trials, participants can physically punish their opponent (active trials), whereas in the other half they can only avoid a punishment (passive trials). We performed functional connectivity analysis seeded in the VS to test for differential network interactions in active compared to passive trials. The VS showed greater connectivity with areas involved in reward valuation (orbitofrontal cortex), arousal (dorsal thalamus and posterior insula), attention (inferior occipital gyrus), and motor control (supplementary motor area) in active compared to passive trials, whereas connectivity between the VS and the inferior frontal gyrus decreased. Interindividual variability in connectivity strength between VS and posterior insula was related to aggressive behavior, whereas connectivity between VS and supplementary motor area was related to faster reaction times in active trials. Our results suggest that punishing a provoking opponent when winning might adaptively favor a "competitive state" in the course of an aggressive interaction.
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123
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Perceiving emotional expressions in others: Activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses of explicit evaluation, passive perception and incidental perception of emotions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 71:810-828. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Revised: 09/17/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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124
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Zhang H, Mo L. Mentalizing and Information Propagation through Social Network: Evidence from a Resting-State-fMRI Study. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1716. [PMID: 27867367 PMCID: PMC5095504 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Microblogs is one of the main social networking channels by which information is spread. Among them, Sina Weibo is one of the largest social networking channels in China. Millions of users repost information from Sina Weibo and share embedded emotion at the same time. The present study investigated participants’ propensity to repost microblog messages of positive, negative, or neutral valence, and studied the neural correlates during resting state with the reposting rate of each type microblog messages. Participants preferred to repost negative messages relative to positive and neutral messages. Reposting rate of negative messages was positively correlated to the functional connectivity of temporoparietal junction (TPJ) with insula, and TPJ with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that reposting negative messages is related to conflict resolution between the feeling of pain/disgust and the intention to repost significant information. Thus, resposting emotional microblog messages might be attributed to participants’ appraisal of personal and recipient’s interest, as well as their cognitive process for decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijun Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University Guangzhou, China
| | - Lei Mo
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University Guangzhou, China
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125
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Predicting pleasure at others’ misfortune: Morality trumps sociability and competence in driving deservingness and schadenfreude. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-016-9594-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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126
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Baez S, Santamaría-García H, Orozco J, Fittipaldi S, García AM, Pino M, Ibáñez A. Your misery is no longer my pleasure: Reduced schadenfreude in Huntington's disease families. Cortex 2016; 83:78-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Revised: 05/31/2016] [Accepted: 07/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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127
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128
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Partial Adaptation of Obtained and Observed Value Signals Preserves Information about Gains and Losses. J Neurosci 2016; 36:10016-25. [PMID: 27683899 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0487-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2016] [Accepted: 07/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Given that the range of rewarding and punishing outcomes of actions is large but neural coding capacity is limited, efficient processing of outcomes by the brain is necessary. One mechanism to increase efficiency is to rescale neural output to the range of outcomes expected in the current context, and process only experienced deviations from this expectation. However, this mechanism comes at the cost of not being able to discriminate between unexpectedly low losses when times are bad versus unexpectedly high gains when times are good. Thus, too much adaptation would result in disregarding information about the nature and absolute magnitude of outcomes, preventing learning about the longer-term value structure of the environment. Here we investigate the degree of adaptation in outcome coding brain regions in humans, for directly experienced outcomes and observed outcomes. We scanned participants while they performed a social learning task in gain and loss blocks. Multivariate pattern analysis showed two distinct networks of brain regions adapt to the most likely outcomes within a block. Frontostriatal areas adapted to directly experienced outcomes, whereas lateral frontal and temporoparietal regions adapted to observed social outcomes. Critically, in both cases, adaptation was incomplete and information about whether the outcomes arose in a gain block or a loss block was retained. Univariate analysis confirmed incomplete adaptive coding in these regions but also detected nonadapting outcome signals. Thus, although neural areas rescale their responses to outcomes for efficient coding, they adapt incompletely and keep track of the longer-term incentives available in the environment. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Optimal value-based choice requires that the brain precisely and efficiently represents positive and negative outcomes. One way to increase efficiency is to adapt responding to the most likely outcomes in a given context. However, too strong adaptation would result in loss of precise representation (e.g., when the avoidance of a loss in a loss-context is coded the same as receipt of a gain in a gain-context). We investigated an intermediate form of adaptation that is efficient while maintaining information about received gains and avoided losses. We found that frontostriatal areas adapted to directly experienced outcomes, whereas lateral frontal and temporoparietal regions adapted to observed social outcomes. Importantly, adaptation was intermediate, in line with influential models of reference dependence in behavioral economics.
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129
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Fujino J, Fujimoto S, Kodaka F, Camerer CF, Kawada R, Tsurumi K, Tei S, Isobe M, Miyata J, Sugihara G, Yamada M, Fukuyama H, Murai T, Takahashi H. Neural mechanisms and personality correlates of the sunk cost effect. Sci Rep 2016; 6:33171. [PMID: 27611212 PMCID: PMC5017311 DOI: 10.1038/srep33171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The sunk cost effect, an interesting and well-known maladaptive behavior, is pervasive in real life, and thus has been studied in various disciplines, including economics, psychology, organizational behavior, politics, and biology. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the sunk cost effect have not been clearly established, nor have their association with differences in individual susceptibility to the effect. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated neural responses induced by sunk costs along with measures of core human personality. We found that individuals who tend to adhere to social rules and regulations (who are high in measured agreeableness and conscientiousness) are more susceptible to the sunk cost effect. Furthermore, this behavioral observation was strongly mediated by insula activity during sunk cost decision-making. Tight coupling between the insula and lateral prefrontal cortex was also observed during decision-making under sunk costs. Our findings reveal how individual differences can affect decision-making under sunk costs, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the psychological and neural mechanisms of the sunk cost effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junya Fujino
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.,Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kitakarasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8577, Japan
| | - Shinsuke Fujimoto
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Fumitoshi Kodaka
- Department of Psychiatry, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishinbashi, Minato, Tokyo 105-0003, Japan
| | - Colin F Camerer
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, California, 91125, USA
| | - Ryosaku Kawada
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Kosuke Tsurumi
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Shisei Tei
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.,Institute of Applied Brain Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-1192, Japan.,School of Human and Social Sciences, Tokyo International University, 2509 Matoba, Kawagoe, Saitama 350-1198, Japan
| | - Masanori Isobe
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Jun Miyata
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Genichi Sugihara
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Makiko Yamada
- Molecular Neuroimaging Program, Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555, Japan
| | - Hidenao Fukuyama
- Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Toshiya Murai
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Takahashi
- Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
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130
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Ma LQ, Ning L, Wang Z, Wang YW. Visual and noxious electrical stimulus-evoked membrane-potential responses in anterior cingulate cortical neurons. Mol Brain 2016; 9:82. [PMID: 27585569 PMCID: PMC5009664 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-016-0262-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is known to participate in numerous brain functions, such as memory storage, emotion, attention, as well as perception of acute and chronic pain. ACC-dependent brain functions often rely on ACC processing of various forms of environmental information. To understand the neural basis of ACC functions, previous studies have investigated ACC responses to environmental stimulation, particularly complex sensory stimuli as well as award and aversive stimuli, but this issue remains to be further clarified. Here, by performing whole-cell recording in vivo in anaesthetized adult rats, we examined membrane-potential (MP) responses of layer II/III ACC neurons that were evoked by a brief flash of visual stimulation and pain-related electrical stimulation delivered to hind paws. We found that ~54 and ~81 % ACC neurons exhibited excitatory MP responses, subthreshold or suprathreshold, to the visual stimulus and the electrical stimulus, respectively, with no cell showing inhibitory MP responses. We further found that the visually evoked ACC response could be greatly diminished by local lidocaine infusion in the visual thalamus, and only their temporal patterns but not amplitudes could be changed by large-scale visual cortical lesions. Our in vivo whole-cell recording data characterized in ACC neurons a visually evoked response, which was largely dependent on the visual thalamus but not visual cortex, as well as a noxious electrical stimulus-evoked response. These findings may provide potential mechanisms that are used for ACC functions on the basis of sensory information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Qing Ma
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 12 Wulumuqi Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Li Ning
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Zhiru Wang
- Institute and Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics of Shanghai and Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, No. 3663 Zhongshang Road, Shanghai, 200062, China.
| | - Ying-Wei Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 12 Wulumuqi Road, Shanghai, 200040, China.
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131
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Verschure PFMJ. Synthetic consciousness: the distributed adaptive control perspective. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150448. [PMID: 27431526 PMCID: PMC4958942 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/18/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the nature of consciousness is one of the grand outstanding scientific challenges. The fundamental methodological problem is how phenomenal first person experience can be accounted for in a third person verifiable form, while the conceptual challenge is to both define its function and physical realization. The distributed adaptive control theory of consciousness (DACtoc) proposes answers to these three challenges. The methodological challenge is answered relative to the hard problem and DACtoc proposes that it can be addressed using a convergent synthetic methodology using the analysis of synthetic biologically grounded agents, or quale parsing. DACtoc hypothesizes that consciousness in both its primary and secondary forms serves the ability to deal with the hidden states of the world and emerged during the Cambrian period, affording stable multi-agent environments to emerge. The process of consciousness is an autonomous virtualization memory, which serializes and unifies the parallel and subconscious simulations of the hidden states of the world that are largely due to other agents and the self with the objective to extract norms. These norms are in turn projected as value onto the parallel simulation and control systems that are driving action. This functional hypothesis is mapped onto the brainstem, midbrain and the thalamo-cortical and cortico-cortical systems and analysed with respect to our understanding of deficits of consciousness. Subsequently, some of the implications and predictions of DACtoc are outlined, in particular, the prediction that normative bootstrapping of conscious agents is predicated on an intentionality prior. In the view advanced here, human consciousness constitutes the ultimate evolutionary transition by allowing agents to become autonomous with respect to their evolutionary priors leading to a post-biological Anthropocene.This article is part of the themed issue 'The major synthetic evolutionary transitions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul F M J Verschure
- Laboratory of Synthetic Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems, Center of Autonomous Systems and Neurorobotics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain ICREA-Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, 08018 Barcelona, Spain
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132
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Xiang Y, Kong F, Wen X, Wu Q, Mo L. Neural correlates of envy: Regional homogeneity of resting-state brain activity predicts dispositional envy. Neuroimage 2016; 142:225-230. [PMID: 27498369 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2016] [Revised: 07/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/02/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Envy differs from common negative emotions across cultures. Although previous studies have explored the neural basis of episodic envy via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), little is known about the neural processes associated with dispositional envy. In the present study, we used regional homogeneity (ReHo) as an index in resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) to identify brain regions involved in individual differences in dispositional envy, as measured by the Dispositional Envy Scale (DES). Results showed that ReHo in the inferior/middle frontal gyrus (IFG/MFG) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) positively predicted dispositional envy. Moreover, of all the personality traits measured by the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), only neuroticism was significantly associated with dispositional envy. Furthermore, neuroticism mediated the underlying association between the ReHo of the IFG/MFG and dispositional envy. Hence, to the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence that spontaneous brain activity in multiple regions related to self-evaluation, social perception, and social emotion contributes to dispositional envy. In addition, our findings reveal that neuroticism may play an important role in the cognitive processing of dispositional envy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanhui Xiang
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Feng Kong
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xue Wen
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Qihan Wu
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Lei Mo
- Center for Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
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133
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Kainate-induced network activity in the anterior cingulate cortex. Neuroscience 2016; 325:20-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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134
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Watanabe H. Effects of Self-Evaluation Threat on Schadenfreude Toward Strangers in a Reality TV Show. Psychol Rep 2016; 118:778-92. [DOI: 10.1177/0033294116648767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Schadenfreude toward strangers in a reality TV show may be affected by self-evaluation threat. This study extends previous work by adding a control group to positive and negative feedback groups in order to investigate the effects of self-evaluation threat. Sex of the target of schadenfreude and schadenfroh participant was considered. Among undergraduate students screened for low general self-esteem, 31 men ( M = 20.3 ± 1.6 years old) and 59 women ( M = 20.0 ± 1.2 years old) volunteered to participate. Participants performed a simple calculation task, and then received negative, positive, or no feedback regarding the task before completing the State Self-Esteem Scale and watching videos taken from American Idol that showed an applicant being criticized by judges. After watching videos, participants completed items related to schadenfreude. There were no differences in schadenfreude toward strangers between the three feedback groups. In addition to the Japanese tendency of reduced self-enhancement in self-threatening situations, targets with no psychological closeness may also explain the lack of a relationship between self-evaluation threat and schadenfreude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitomi Watanabe
- Department of Psychology, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Japan
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135
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Zhen S, Yu R. Tend to Compare and Tend to Be Fair: The Relationship between Social Comparison Sensitivity and Justice Sensitivity. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0155414. [PMID: 27214372 PMCID: PMC4877011 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 04/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Social comparison is a prerequisite for processing fairness, although the two types of cognition may be associated with different emotions. Whereas social comparison may induce envy, the perception of unfairness may elicit anger. Yet, it remains unclear whether people who tend to have a strong sense of fairness also tend to compare themselves more with others. Here, Study 1 used a modified ultimatum game (UG) and a social comparison game (SCG) to examine the relationship between justice sensitivity and social comparison sensitivity in 51 young adults. Study 2 examined self-reported social comparison and justice sensitivity in 142 young adults. Both studies showed a positive correlation between social comparison sensitivity and justice sensitivity. We reason that social comparison and justice sensitivity have an important positive correlation in human decision-making. The rejection of self-disadvantageous inequality offers may be due to the social comparison effect, which suggests that the tendency to compare oneself with others may contribute to having a strong sense of justice. Our findings suggest that the predictions of game theory may vary depending on the social culture context and incorporating notions of fairness and social comparison tendency may be essential to better predict the actual behavior of players in social interactive situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanshan Zhen
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rongjun Yu
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.,Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology (SINAPSE), Center for Life Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.,Neurobiology/Aging programme, Center for Life Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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136
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Abstract
It is well established that attention can be captured by task irrelevant and non-salient objects associated with value through reward learning. However, it is unknown whether social comparison influences reward-driven attentional capture. The present study created four social contexts to examine whether different social comparisons modulate the reward-driven capture of attention. The results showed that reward-driven attentional capture varied with different social comparison conditions. Most prominently, reward-driven attentional capture is dramatically reduced in the disadvantageous social comparison context, in which an individual is informed that the other participant is earning more monetary reward for performing the same task. These findings suggest that social comparison can affect the reward-driven capture of attention.
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137
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Wang Y, Song J, Guo F, Zhang Z, Yuan S, Cacioppo S. Spatiotemporal Brain Dynamics of Empathy for Pain and Happiness in Friendship. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:45. [PMID: 27065822 PMCID: PMC4811874 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2015] [Accepted: 02/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Although a large number of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have investigated the neural bases of empathy, little is known about its spatiotemporal dynamics or its modulation by the level of friendship between the observer and the agent who is being hurt. Moreover, most of the previous studies on empathy have focused on empathy for pain rather than empathy for positive emotions, such as happiness. In the present study, we addressed this question by investigating the spatiotemporal brain dynamics of two different kinds of empathy (empathy for pain, empathy for happiness) with a behavioral priming empathy task involving two different level of primes (a close friend, a stranger). Method/Principal Findings: Electrical brain activity and behavioral data were analyzed from 30 subjects (12 males and 18 females). Half of the subjects performed a behavioral task on empathy for pain task (EPT), while the other half performed a behavioral task on empathy for happiness task (EHT). In each task, participants viewed prime photographs of either: (1) a stranger; or (2) a close friend (primes) followed by target photographs showing either a hand being hurt (or not; targets in the EPT), or a hand in happy circumstances (or not; targets in the EHT). In each task, participants were asked to judge the target situation and report whether they could feel the pain (in EPT) or the happiness (in the EHT), as a function of the primes i.e., either from the close friend’s or from the stranger’s perspective. Although our behavioral results didn’t reveal any explicit differences among the different types of primes within each task, our electrophysiological results showed variations as a function of the primes. First, a early smaller N110 amplitude for pain was observed in the anterior prefrontal cortex during the friend prime condition compared to the stranger prime condition. No similar early effects were found for happiness. On the other hand, both empathy for happiness (EHT) and empathy for pain (EPT) elicited later differences. In the EPT, the friend prime elicited a larger late positive potential (LPP) than the stranger prime. In the EHT, the friend prime elicited a larger N250, a smaller P300, and a smaller LPP than the stranger prime. Conclusions: Taking the perspective of a close friend (as a prime stimulus) does have a dual-stage effect on empathy that is characterized by an early modulation for pain and later modulations for both pain and happiness. The early differences between friend and stranger primes for pain (but not for happiness) suggest that empathy for pain is an automatic process that has been socially learned and passed among friends. On the other hand, the later differences observed between stranger and friend prime suggest that additional cognitive appraisal take place for both pain and happiness. Our results suggest that it takes more cognitive attentional efforts to judge a stranger’s happiness than a friend’s happiness, whereas the opposite is true for pain. These findings open new avenues toward a better understanding of the empathic mind.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiwen Wang
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Institute of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Fuzhou UniversityFuzhou, China; Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal UniversityTianjin, China
| | - Juan Song
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University Tianjin, China
| | - Fengbo Guo
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University Tianjin, China
| | - Zhen Zhang
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Institute of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Fuzhou University Fuzhou, China
| | - Sheng Yuan
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University Tianjin, China
| | - Stephanie Cacioppo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Biological Sciences Division, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of MedicineChicago, IL, USA; High-Performance Electrical Neuroimaging (HPEN) Laboratory, The University of ChicagoChicago, IL, USA
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138
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Overstatement in happiness reporting with ordinal, bounded scale. Sci Rep 2016; 6:21321. [PMID: 26887524 PMCID: PMC4758068 DOI: 10.1038/srep21321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
There are various methods by which people can express subjective evaluations quantitatively. For example, happiness can be measured on a scale from 1 to 10, and has been suggested as a measure of economic policy. However, there is resistance to these types of measurement from economists, who often regard welfare to be a cardinal, unbounded quantity. It is unclear whether there are differences between subjective evaluation reported on ordinal, bounded scales and on cardinal, unbounded scales. To answer this question, we developed functional magnetic resonance imaging experimental tasks for reporting happiness from monetary gain and the perception of visual stimulus. Subjects tended to report higher values when they used ordinal scales instead of cardinal scales. There were differences in neural activation between ordinal and cardinal reporting scales. The posterior parietal area showed greater activation when subjects used an ordinal scale instead of a cardinal scale. Importantly, the striatum exhibited greater activation when asked to report happiness on an ordinal scale than when asked to report on a cardinal scale. The finding that ordinal (bounded) scales are associated with higher reported happiness and greater activation in the reward system shows that overstatement bias in happiness data must be considered.
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139
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van Dijk WW, Ouwerkerk JW, Smith RH, Cikara M. The role of self-evaluation and envy in schadenfreude. EUROPEAN REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/10463283.2015.1111600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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140
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Abstract
People show empathic responses to others’ pain, yet how they choose to apportion pain between themselves and others is not well understood. To address this question, we observed choices to reapportion social allocations of painful stimuli and, for comparison, also elicited equivalent choices with money. On average people sought to equalize allocations of both pain and money, in a manner which indicated that inequality carried an increasing marginal cost. Preferences for pain were more altruistic than for money, with several participants assigning more than half the pain to themselves. Our data indicate that, given concern for others, the fundamental principle of diminishing marginal utility motivates spreading costs across individuals. A model incorporating this assumption outperformed existing models of social utility in explaining the data. By implementing selected allocations for real, we also found that while inequality per se did not influence pain perception, altruistic behavior had an intrinsic analgesic effect for the recipient.
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141
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Feng C, Li Z, Feng X, Wang L, Tian T, Luo YJ. Social hierarchy modulates neural responses of empathy for pain. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 11:485-95. [PMID: 26516169 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent evidence indicates that empathic responses to others' pain are modulated by various situational and individual factors. However, few studies have examined how empathy and underlying brain functions are modulated by social hierarchies, which permeate human society with an enormous impact on social behavior and cognition. In this study, social hierarchies were established based on incidental skill in a perceptual task in which all participants were mediumly ranked. Afterwards, participants were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging while watching inferior-status or superior-status targets receiving painful or non-painful stimulation. The results revealed that painful stimulation applied to inferior-status targets induced higher activations in the anterior insula (AI) and anterior medial cingulate cortex (aMCC), whereas these empathic brain activations were significantly attenuated in response to superior-status targets' pain. Further, this neural empathic bias to inferior-status targets was accompanied by stronger functional couplings of AI with brain regions important in emotional processing (i.e. thalamus) and cognitive control (i.e. middle frontal gyrus). Our findings indicate that emotional sharing with others' pain is shaped by relative positions in a social hierarchy such that underlying empathic neural responses are biased toward inferior-status compared with superior-status individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunliang Feng
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, and
| | - Zhihao Li
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xue Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, and
| | - Lili Wang
- School of Educational Science, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian, China
| | - Tengxiang Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, and
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Sichuan for Elder Care and Health, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
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142
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Shimada S, Matsumoto M, Takahashi H, Yomogida Y, Matsumoto K. Coordinated activation of premotor and ventromedial prefrontal cortices during vicarious reward. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 11:508-15. [PMID: 26500290 PMCID: PMC4769636 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The vicarious reward we receive from watching likable others obtaining a positive outcome is a pervasive phenomenon, yet its neural correlates are poorly understood. Here, we conducted a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments to test the hypothesis that the brain areas responsible for action observation and reward processing work in a coordinated fashion during vicarious reward. In the first experiment (manipulation phase), the participant was instructed to cheer for a particular player in a two-player competitive game (Rock–Paper–Scissors). This manipulation made participants feel more unity with that player and resulted in unity-related activation in the premotor area during action observation. In the following main experiment, the participant witnessed the previously cheered-for or non-cheered-for player succeed in a new solitary game (a stopwatch game). The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was activated when the cheered-for player succeeded in the game but not when the other player did. Interestingly, this vmPFC activation was functionally connected with premotor activation only during the cheered-for player’s success. These results suggest that vicarious reward is processed in the vmPFC-premotor network, which is activated specifically by the success of the other person with whom the individual feels unity and closeness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sotaro Shimada
- Department of Electronics and Bioinformatics, School of Science and Technology, Meiji University, Kawasaki 214-8571, Japan,
| | - Madoka Matsumoto
- Department of Electronics and Bioinformatics, School of Science and Technology, Meiji University, Kawasaki 214-8571, Japan, Department of Neuropsychiatry, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and
| | - Hidefumi Takahashi
- Department of Electronics and Bioinformatics, School of Science and Technology, Meiji University, Kawasaki 214-8571, Japan
| | - Yukihito Yomogida
- Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, Machida, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan
| | - Kenji Matsumoto
- Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, Machida, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan
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143
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Rentzsch K, Schröder-Abé M, Schütz A. Envy mediates the relation between low academic self-esteem and hostile tendencies. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2015.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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144
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Rentzsch K, Gross JJ. Who Turns Green with Envy? Conceptual and Empirical Perspectives on Dispositional Envy. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/per.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has conceptualized dispositional envy as a general construct that does not vary across comparison domains. In five studies (N = 1393), we examine dispositional envy as a domain–specific construct. In Study 1, we present the development of a domain–specific measure of dispositional envy. Across samples from different populations and two countries (Studies 2 and 3), the measure is shown to have good reliability, construct validity and stability over three months, highlighting the trait–like character of the construct. State levels of envy were also examined in the academic domain (Study 4) and in dyadic interactions between unacquainted participants (Study 5). Results show a Person × Situation Interaction effect (i.e. Dispositional Envy × Situation) on experiences of envy. By placing domain–specific dispositional envy into a network of similar and dissimilar constructs, the current findings serve as a foundation for drawing conclusions about the nature of dispositional envy. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin Rentzsch
- Department of Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
| | - James J. Gross
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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145
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Social Comparison Manifests in Event-related Potentials. Sci Rep 2015; 5:12127. [PMID: 26183734 PMCID: PMC4505307 DOI: 10.1038/srep12127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Social comparison, a widespread phenomenon in human society, has been found to affect outcome evaluation. The need to belong to a social group may result in distinct neural responses to diverse social comparison outcomes. To extend previous studies by examining how social comparison with hierarchical characteristics is temporally processed, electroencephalography responses were recorded in the current study. Participants played a lottery game with two pseudo-players simultaneously and received both their own and the other two players’ outcomes. Results of three event-related potential components, including the P2, the feedback-related negativity (FRN), and the late positive component (LPC), indicate that social comparison manifests in three stages. First, outcomes indicating a different performance from others elicited a larger P2 than evenness. Second, the FRN showed hierarchical sensitivity to social comparison outcomes. This effect manifested asymmetrically. Finally, large difference between the participant’s outcome and the other two players’ evoked a larger LPC than the medium difference and the even condition. We suggest that during social comparison, people detect if there is any difference between self and others, and then evaluate the information of this difference hierarchically, and finally interpret the situations in which oneself deviates from the group as most motivationally salient.
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146
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Chester DS, DeWall CN. The pleasure of revenge: retaliatory aggression arises from a neural imbalance toward reward. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 11:1173-82. [PMID: 26117504 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2015] [Accepted: 06/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Most of daily life hums along peacefully but provocations tip the balance toward aggression. Negative feelings are often invoked to explain why people lash out after an insult. Yet people might retaliate because provocation makes aggression hedonically rewarding. To test this alternative hypothesis, 69 participants underwent functional neuroimaging while they completed a behavioral aggression task that repeatedly manipulated whether aggression was preceded by an instance of provocation or not. After provocation, greater activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) (a brain region reliably associated with reward) during aggressive decisions predicted louder noise blasts administered in retaliation. Greater NAcc activation was also associated with participants' history of real-world violence. Functional connectivity between the NAcc and a regulatory region in the lateral prefrontal cortex related to lower retaliatory aggression. These findings suggest that provocation tips the neural balance towards hedonic reward, which fosters retaliatory aggression. Although such pleasure of inflicting pain may promote retaliatory aggression, self-regulatory processes can keep such aggressive urges at bay. Implications for theory and violence reduction are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David S Chester
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - C Nathan DeWall
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
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147
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Abstract
Whenever we interact with others, we judge them and whenever we make such judgments, we compare them with ourselves, other people, or internalized standards. Countless social psychological experiments have shown that comparative thinking plays a ubiquitous role in person perception and social cognition as a whole. The topic of social comparison has recently aroused the interest of social neuroscientists, who have begun to investigate its neural underpinnings. The present article provides an overview of these neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies. We discuss recent findings on the consequences of social comparison on the brain processing of outcomes and highlight the role of the brain’s reward system. Moreover, we analyze the relationship between the brain networks involved in social comparisons and those active during other forms of cognitive and perceptual comparison. Finally, we discuss potential future questions that research on the neural correlates of social comparison could address.
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148
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Better you lose than I do: neural networks involved in winning and losing in a real time strictly competitive game. Sci Rep 2015; 5:11017. [PMID: 26047332 PMCID: PMC4650644 DOI: 10.1038/srep11017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 05/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Many situations in daily life require competing with others for the same goal. In this case, the joy of winning is tied to the fact that the rival suffers. In this fMRI study participants played a competitive game against another player, in which every trial had opposite consequences for the two players (i.e., if one player won, the other lost, or vice versa). Our main aim was to disentangle brain activation for two different types of winning. Participants could either win a trial in a way that it increased their payoff; or they could win a trial in a way that it incurred a monetary loss to their opponent. Two distinct brain networks were engaged in these two types of winning. Wins with a monetary gain activated the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area associated with the processing of rewards. In contrast, avoidance of loss/other-related monetary loss evoked activation in areas related to mentalizing, such as the temporo-parietal junction and precuneus. However, both types of winnings shared activation in the striatum. Our findings extend recent evidence from neuroeconomics by suggesting that we consider our conspecifics' payoff even when we directly compete with them.
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149
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150
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Beauty matters: social preferences in a three-person ultimatum game. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0125806. [PMID: 25951138 PMCID: PMC4423917 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2014] [Accepted: 03/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Preference for beauty is human nature, as previous behavior studies have supported the notion of “beauty premium” in which attractive people were more easily to get promoted and receive higher salaries. In the present study, 29 males were recruited to participate in a three-person ultimatum game (UG) including a proposer, a responder and a powerless third player. Each subject, playing as the responder, had to decide whether to accept an offer from the allocator both for himself and a female third person. We aimed to elucidate how the facial attractiveness of the female subject affected the male subjects’ fairness and decision-making in social exchanges. Frontal feedback-related negativity (FRN) in response to four offers in an attractive-face condition revealed no significant differences between offers; however, when the companion was an unattractive female, an “unfair/fair” offer, which assigned a lower share to the responder and a fair share to the third player, elicited the largest FRN. Furthermore, when the third player was offered the smallest amount (“fair/unfair” offer), a larger FRN was generated in an attractive-face condition than unattractive-face condition. In the “unfair/fair” offer condition in which subjects received a smaller allocation than the third person, the beauty of their female counterparts attenuated subjects’ aversion to inequality, resulting in a less negative FRN in the frontal region and an increased acceptance ratio. However, the influence of the third player’s facial attractiveness only affected the early evaluation stage: late P300 was found to be immune to the “beauty premium”. Under the two face conditions, P300 was smallest following an “unfair/fair” offer, whereas the amplitudes in the other three offer conditions exhibited no significant differences. In addition, the differentiated neural features of processing facial attractiveness were also determined and indexed by four event-related potentials (ERP) components: N170, frontal N1, N2 and late positive potentials (LPPs).
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