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Social Support Modulates Neural Responses to Unfairness in the Ultimatum Game.
Chunli Wei1, Li Zheng1,2,3,4, Liping Che5
1School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|March 9, 2018
Summary
Social support increases unfairness feelings and rejection rates in the ultimatum game (UG). This is linked to heightened brain activity in areas associated with fairness and decision-making, showing social support modulates these processes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
- Decision Science
Background:
- Fairness considerations are crucial in economic decision-making.
- Social support's influence on fairness perception and behavior remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of social support on fairness considerations and decision-making in the ultimatum game (UG).
- To identify the neural correlates associated with social support during fairness-related decisions.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to monitor brain activity.
- Participants played the ultimatum game (UG) under two conditions: standard (control) and with social support from observers.
- Responders' subjective feelings and behavioral choices (offer acceptance/rejection) were recorded.
Main Results:
- Social support led to increased perceptions of unfairness and higher rejection rates of unfair offers.
- fMRI data showed greater activation in the anterior cingulate gyrus and right anterior insula under social support when receiving unfair offers.
- The medial prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula showed increased activity during the rejection of unfair offers in the social support condition.
Conclusions:
- Social support significantly modulates responders' fairness considerations and decision-making processes in the ultimatum game.
- Neural mechanisms involving the anterior cingulate gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex, and right anterior insula are implicated in the effect of social support on fairness evaluation and rejection behavior.
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