Shifting prosocial intuitions: neurocognitive evidence for a value-based account of group-based cooperation

Abstract Cooperation is necessary for solving numerous social issues, including climate change, effective governance and economic stability. Value-based decision models contend that prosocial tendencies and social context shape people’s preferences for cooperative or selfish behavior. Using function...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 2020-04, Vol.15 (4), p.371-381
Main Authors: Hackel, Leor M, Wills, Julian A, Van Bavel, Jay J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Climatic changes
Decision Making - physiology
Decision-making
Executive Function - physiology
Female
Group Processes
Humans
Intuition - physiology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neurosciences
Original Manuscript
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Social aspects
Social Norms
Young Adult
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Summary:Abstract Cooperation is necessary for solving numerous social issues, including climate change, effective governance and economic stability. Value-based decision models contend that prosocial tendencies and social context shape people’s preferences for cooperative or selfish behavior. Using functional neuroimaging and computational modeling, we tested these predictions by comparing activity in brain regions previously linked to valuation and executive function during decision-making—the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), respectively. Participants played Public Goods Games with students from fictitious universities, where social norms were selfish or cooperative. Prosocial participants showed greater vmPFC activity when cooperating and dlPFC-vmPFC connectivity when acting selfishly, whereas selfish participants displayed the opposite pattern. Norm-sensitive participants showed greater dlPFC-vmPFC connectivity when defying group norms. Modeling expectations of cooperation was associated with activity near the right temporoparietal junction. Consistent with value-based models, this suggests that prosocial tendencies and contextual norms flexibly determine whether people prefer cooperation or defection.
ISSN:1749-5016
1749-5024
DOI:10.1093/scan/nsaa055