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Neural correlates of fair behavior in interpersonal bargaining
Silvia Weiland1, Johannes Hewig, Holger Hecht
1Institute of Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany.
Social Neuroscience
|March 27, 2012
Summary
In ultimatum and dictator games, proposers show surprising fairness. Brain imaging reveals strategic fairness in ultimatum games linked to reward and theory of mind regions, while altruistic fairness in dictator games involves different brain areas.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Classical game theory predicts self-interested behavior, but empirical evidence shows proposers often make fair offers in economic games.
- The ultimatum game and dictator game present distinct scenarios for exploring fairness, with differing levels of proposer control and potential consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural underpinnings of fair and unfair offers made by proposers in the ultimatum and dictator games.
- To differentiate the brain activity associated with strategic fairness (egoistic motives) versus altruistic fairness.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to measure brain activity in proposers during gameplay.
- Participants' offers in both the ultimatum and dictator games were recorded and categorized as fair or unfair.
Main Results:
- Fair offers (28%) in the ultimatum game correlated with heightened activity in prefrontal regions associated with reward processing and theory of mind, suggesting strategic fairness.
- Fair offers in the dictator game showed increased activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex, indicative of altruistic fairness.
Conclusions:
- Egoistic motives, reflected in strategic fairness, appear to drive fair offers in the ultimatum game via prefrontal mechanisms.
- Altruistic motives, manifesting as altruistic fairness, seem to be the primary driver of fair offers in the dictator game, engaging distinct neural networks.
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