Gratitude increases the sharing willingness to micro-charity information: An fNIRS study

Micro-charity, with its ease of dissemination, is an effective way to support public welfare. Gratitude has been shown to promote prosocial behavior. However, its specific role in driving micro-charity sharing, particularly the underlying neural correlates, remains unclear. To address this, the present study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to explore the neural correlates underlying gratitude on micro-charity sharing in Chinese college students (N = 27). A modified charitable decision task was used to measure sharing willingness under control and gratitude conditions. Specifically, the participants were asked to indicate their willingness to share the viewed micro-charity appeals on their personal social media platforms. Gratitude was induced using an established essay-writing paradigm. Self-report results showed that gratitude increased willingness to share micro-charity information on social media platforms. Under the gratitude condition, fNIRS findings revealed enhanced activity in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and frontopolar cortex (FPC), potentially reflecting reward processing during decision evaluation. Gratitude also strengthened functional connectivity among the main regions of interest (ROIs: bilateral DLPFC, FPC and MTG). In addition, activation in regions associated with mentalizing (right middle temporal gyrus, right MTG) was positively correlated with sharing willingness. Taken together, our findings elucidate gratitude's positive impact on micro-charity sharing and reveal its underlying neural mechanisms.