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Updated: Jan 14, 2026

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
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Individual differences in motives for costly punishment

Scott Claessens1,2, Quentin D Atkinson3, Nichola J Raihani4,5

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. scott.claessens@gmail.com.

Communications Psychology
|January 12, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Punishment sustains cooperation, but motives vary. This study found egalitarianism, not just changing behavior, drives punitive actions, linked to personality and beliefs.

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