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Meng Y, Jia S, Wang Q, Liu J, Wang H, Sun T, Li X, Liu Y. Height matters: An EEG study of the relative height disadvantage promoting third-party punishment. Neuroscience 2024; 557:37-50. [PMID: 38986738 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
The study employed event-related potential (ERP), time-frequency analysis, and functional connectivity to comprehensively explore the influence of male's relative height on third-party punishment (TPP) and its underlying neural mechanism. The results found that punishment rate and transfer amount are significantly greater when the height of the third-party is lower than that of the recipient, suggesting that male's height disadvantage promotes TPP. Neural results found that the height disadvantage induced a smaller N1. The height disadvantage also evoked greater P300 amplitude, more theta power, and more alpha power. Furthermore, a significantly stronger wPLI between the rTPJ and the posterior parietal and a significantly stronger wPLI between the DLPFC and the posterior parietal were observed when third-party was at the height disadvantage. These results imply that the height disadvantage causes negative emotions and affects the fairness consideration in the early processing stage; the third-party evaluates the blame of violators and makes an appropriate punishment decision later. Our findings indicate that anger and reputation concern caused by height disadvantage promote TPP. The current study holds significance as it underscores the psychological importance of height in males, broadens the perspective on factors influencing TPP, validates the promoting effect of personal disadvantages on prosocial behavior, enriches our understanding of indirect reciprocity theory, and extends the application of the evolution theory of Napoleon complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujia Meng
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, No.21 Bohai Avenue, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China; Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, No.199 South Chang' an Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710062, China
| | - Shuyu Jia
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, No.21 Bohai Avenue, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China; Center for Computational Biology, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, No. 27, Taiping Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Qian Wang
- College of Foreign Languages, North China University of Science and Technology, No.21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China
| | - Jingyue Liu
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, No.21 Bohai Avenue, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China
| | - He Wang
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, No.21 Bohai Avenue, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China; School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, No.21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China
| | - Tianyi Sun
- School of Education Science, Xinyang Normal University, No.237 Nanhu Road, Shihe District, Xinyang City, Henan Province, China
| | - Xuzhou Li
- Faculty of Education, Yunnan Normal University, No.768 Juxian Road, Chenggong, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Yingjie Liu
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, No.21 Bohai Avenue, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China; School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, No.21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China
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Yang J, Gu R, Liu J, Deng K, Huang X, Luo YJ, Cui F. To Blame or Not? Modulating Third-Party Punishment with the Framing Effect. Neurosci Bull 2022; 38:533-547. [PMID: 34988911 PMCID: PMC9106775 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-021-00808-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
People as third-party observers, without direct self-interest, may punish norm violators to maintain social norms. However, third-party judgment and the follow-up punishment might be susceptible to the way we frame (i.e., verbally describe) a norm violation. We conducted a behavioral and a neuroimaging experiment to investigate the above phenomenon, which we call the "third-party framing effect". In these experiments, participants observed an anonymous perpetrator deciding whether to keep her/his economic benefit while exposing a victim to a risk of physical pain (described as "harming others" in one condition and "not helping others" in the other condition), then they had a chance to punish that perpetrator at their own cost. Our results showed that the participants were more willing to execute third-party punishment under the harm frame compared to the help frame, manifesting a framing effect. Self-reported anger toward perpetrators mediated the relationship between empathy toward victims and the framing effect. Meanwhile, activation of the insula mediated the relationship between mid-cingulate cortex activation and the framing effect; the functional connectivity between these regions significantly predicted the size of the framing effect. These findings shed light on the psychological and neural mechanisms of the third-party framing effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiamiao Yang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jie Liu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Kexin Deng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Huang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Fang Cui
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. .,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
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Wang H, Zhen Z, Zhu R, Yu B, Qin S, Liu C. Help or punishment: acute stress moderates basal testosterone's association with prosocial behavior. Stress 2022; 25:179-188. [PMID: 35435122 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2022.2054696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The gonadal hormone testosterone is well-recognized to facilitate various behaviors for obtaining social status. A good reputation (i.e. competitive, generous, and trustworthy) is of crucial importance for acquiring high social status. It is unclear which type of reputation is preferred by individuals under the influence of testosterone. Given that the recent dual-hormone hypothesis emphasizes the modulating effect of stress (cortisol) on the influence of testosterone, it would be intriguing to test the role of stress-induced cortisol in testosterone-related reputation seeking. To test this hypothesis, we induced acute stress in 93 participants with cold pressor test (CPT) paradigm (vs. control condition), and then they were instructed to play a third-party intervention game, in which they made decisions as an uninvolved, outside the third party to punish a violator, help a victim, or do nothing. Salivary samples were obtained to assess participants' testosterone and cortisol levels. We split the testosterone concentration by median to low endogenous testosterone (LT) and high endogenous testosterone (HT). We found that HT individuals' prosocial preferences did not affect by acute stress. They were more likely to choose punishment than helping under both stress and control conditions. In contrast, individuals with low testosterone were more inclined to help than punish under control conditions. Interestingly, acute stress brought behavior patterns of LT individuals closer to those of HT individuals, that is, they reduced their helping behavior and increased the intensity of punishments. In this preliminary study on the preference inducement of testosterone for different types of prosocial behaviors, we discuss the physiological mechanism of the relationship between testosterone and reputation and the implications of these results for the dual-hormone hypothesis.HIGHLIGHTSLow testosterone (LT) individuals were more inclined to help than punish.High testosterone (HT) individuals were more inclined to punish than help.The HT individuals' preferences for prosocial types were not affected by acute stress.Acute stress brought the behavior patterns of LT individuals closer to those of HT individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huagen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhen Zhen
- Psychological Health Education and Counseling Center, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
| | - Ruida Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Bohai Yu
- Medical Laboratory Department, Shenzhen Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
| | - Shaozheng Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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