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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:S0306-4522(24)00308-7. [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 more 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 Education Science, Xinyang Normal University, No.237 Nanhu Road, Shihe District, Xinyang City, Henan 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 Education Science, Xinyang Normal University, No.237 Nanhu Road, Shihe District, Xinyang City, Henan 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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Fan C, Wang H, Liu D, Sun J, Han F, He W. Proposer's moral identity modulates fairness processing in the ultimatum game: Evidence from behavior and brain potentials. Int J Psychophysiol 2024; 201:112360. [PMID: 38735630 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Economic decision-making is pivotal to both human private interests and the national economy. People pursue fairness in economic decision-making, but a proposer's moral identity can influence fairness processing. Previous ERP studies have revealed that moral identity has an effect on fairness considerations in the Ultimatum Game (UG), but the findings are inconsistent. To address the issue, we revised the moral-related sentences and used the ERP technique to measure the corresponding neural mechanism. We have observed that the fairness effect in UG can be mirrored in both MFN and P300 changes, whereas the moral identity effect on fairness in UG can be reflected by MFN but not P300 changes. These findings indicate that the moral identity of the proposer can modulate fairness processing in UG. The current study opens new avenues for clarifying the temporal course of the relationship between the proposer's moral identity and fairness in economic decision-making, which is beneficial for understanding the influencing mechanism of fairness processing and fair allocations in complex social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Fan
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Huanxin Wang
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Dingyu Liu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Jiayi Sun
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Fengxu Han
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Weiqi He
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China.
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Christian P, Kaiser J, Taylor PC, George M, Schütz-Bosbach S, Soutschek A. Belief Updating during Social Interactions: Neural Dynamics and Causal Role of Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1669232024. [PMID: 38649270 PMCID: PMC11140663 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1669-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
In competitive interactions, humans have to flexibly update their beliefs about another person's intentions in order to adjust their own choice strategy, such as when believing that the other may exploit their cooperativeness. Here we investigate both the neural dynamics and the causal neural substrate of belief updating processes in humans. We used an adapted prisoner's dilemma game in which participants explicitly predicted the coplayer's actions, which allowed us to quantify the prediction error between expected and actual behavior. First, in an EEG experiment, we found a stronger medial frontal negativity (MFN) for negative than positive prediction errors, suggesting that this medial frontal ERP component may encode unexpected defection of the coplayer. The MFN also predicted subsequent belief updating after negative prediction errors. In a second experiment, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate whether the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) causally implements belief updating after unexpected outcomes. Our results show that dmPFC TMS impaired belief updating and strategic behavioral adjustments after negative prediction errors. Taken together, our findings reveal the time course of the use of prediction errors in social decisions and suggest that the dmPFC plays a crucial role in updating mental representations of others' intentions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Christian
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 80802, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 82152, Germany
| | - Jakob Kaiser
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 80802, Germany
| | - Paul Christopher Taylor
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 80802, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 82152, Germany
| | - Michelle George
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 80802, Germany
| | - Simone Schütz-Bosbach
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 80802, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 82152, Germany
| | - Alexander Soutschek
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 80802, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich 82152, Germany
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Zhang C, Yin M, Wu J. The effect of experiences of fairness on honest behavior: a behavioral and neural study. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 17:1279176. [PMID: 38259630 PMCID: PMC10800650 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1279176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Prior studies have investigated the relationship between fairness and honesty. However, the differences in the focus of these studies have rendered cross-comparisons between them challenging and of limited value. Thus, this study explored how fairness impacts honest decision-making, focusing specifically on the effect of individuals' experiences of fairness on their honest behavior. Experiment 1 explored the influence of different experiences of fairness on honest behavior in an altruistic context. In Experiment 2, we measured event-related potentials to further demonstrate the brain mechanisms of these experiences on altruistic dishonest behavior. In Experiment 1, we found that the reaction time for dishonest behavior was shorter for individuals who had positive unfairness experiences with high altruistic objects compared to low altruistic objects. Individuals who had negative unfairness experiences had shorter reaction times when engaging in dishonest behaviors for the sake of high altruistic objects compared to those with equitable experiences. In Experiment 2, in which there was an opportunity to lie for a highly altruistic object, those with fair experiences had greater N2 volatility and smaller P3 volatility than those with positive unfairness experiences. These findings highlight the value of integrating moral psychology and behavioral economics. Discriminant validity across fairness experiences can help illuminate the different motivations behind moral decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Zhang
- School of Educational Sciences, Xuzhou University of Technology, Xuzhou, China
- School of Education, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Ming Yin
- Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Microexpression Intelligent Sensing and Security Prevention and Control, Nanjing, China
| | - Jixia Wu
- School of Education, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
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Nicolaisen-Sobesky E, Paz V, Cervantes-Constantino F, Fernández-Theoduloz G, Pérez A, Martínez-Montes E, Kessel D, Cabana Á, Gradin VB. Event-related potentials during the ultimatum game in people with symptoms of depression and/or social anxiety. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14319. [PMID: 37118970 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Depression and social anxiety are common disorders that have a profound impact on social functioning. The need for studying the neural substrates of social interactions in mental disorders using interactive tasks has been emphasized. The field of neuroeconomics, which combines neuroscience techniques and behavioral economics multiplayer tasks such as the Ultimatum Game (UG), can contribute in this direction. We assessed emotions, behavior, and Event-Related Potentials in participants with depression and/or social anxiety symptoms (MD/SA, n = 63, 57 females) and healthy controls (n = 72, 67 females), while they played the UG. In this task, participants received fair, mid-value, and unfair offers from other players. Mixed linear models were implemented to assess trial level changes in neural activity. The MD/SA group reported higher levels of sadness in response to mid-value and unfair offers compared to controls. In controls, the Medial Frontal Negativity associated with fair offers increased over time, while this dynamic was not observed in the MD/SA group. The MD/SA group showed a decreased P3/LPP in all offers, compared to controls. These results indicate an enhanced negative emotional response to unfairness in the MD/SA group. Neural results reveal a blunted response over time to positive social stimuli in the MD/SA group. Moreover, between-group differences in P3/LPP may relate to a reduced saliency of offers and/or to a reduced availability of resources for processing incoming stimuli in the MD/SA group. Findings may shed light into the neural substrates of social difficulties in these disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eliana Nicolaisen-Sobesky
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Valentina Paz
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Fundamentos y Métodos en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Psicología Clínica, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | | | - Gabriela Fernández-Theoduloz
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Psicología Clínica, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Alfonso Pérez
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | | | - Dominique Kessel
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Álvaro Cabana
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Fundamentos y Métodos en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Victoria B Gradin
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Fundamentos y Métodos en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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