When rank meets identity: the neural basis of social rank and group identity integration

Group identity and social rank are fundamental, interacting dimensions of interpersonal relationships, yet their integrative neural representations remain poorly understood. This study bridges this gap using an experimental design that simultaneously manipulates both dimensions, combined with advanced neuroimaging techniques. During functional MRI scanning, participants viewed targets varying in group identity and social rank. The results revealed that social rank is differentially represented within in-group and out-group contexts. Activity in regions associated with top-down attentional control (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dlPFC) and individuated processing (posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, PCC/precuneus) exhibited greater differentiation between high- and low-rank targets for in-group than out-group members. Similarly, multivariate neural patterns across the whole brain and local patterns in the dlPFC and PCC/precuneus, along with cognitive control and social cognitive regions, including ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, and middle temporal gyrus (MTG) robustly distinguished high- and low-rank targets within in-group members but not out-group members. Lastly, group identity and social rank interacted to shape functional connectivity between the dlPFC and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, as well as between the PCC/precuneus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and MTG. Together, our findings revealed the engagement of cognitive control and social brain networks during the integrative representations of social rank and identity, implicating the critical role of attention allocation and individuated perception processes.