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Jin K, Wu J, Zhang R, Zhang S, Wu X, Wu T, Gu R, Liu C. Observing heroic behavior and its influencing factors in immersive virtual environments. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2314590121. [PMID: 38625938 PMCID: PMC11047098 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314590121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Studying heroism in controlled settings presents challenges and ethical controversies due to its association with physical risk. Leveraging virtual reality (VR) technology, we conducted a three-study series with 397 participants from China to investigate heroic actions. Participants unexpectedly witnessed a criminal event in a simulated scenario, allowing observation of their tendency to physically intercept a thief. We examined situational factors (voluntariness, authority, and risk) and personal variables [gender, impulsivity, empathy, and social value orientation (SVO)] that may influence heroism. Also, the potential association between heroism and social conformity was explored. In terms of situational variables, voluntariness modulated participants' tendency to intercept the escaping thief, while perceived risk demonstrated its impact by interacting with gender. That is, in study 3 where the perceived risk was expected to be higher (as supported by an online study 5), males exhibited a greater inclination toward heroic behavior compared to females. Regarding other personal variables, the tendency to engage in heroic behavior decreased as empathy levels rose among males, whereas the opposite trend was observed for females. SVO influenced heroic behavior but without a gender interaction. Finally, an inverse relationship between heroism and social conformity was observed. The robustness of these findings was partly supported by the Chinese sample (but not the international sample) of an online study 4 that provided written descriptions of VR scenarios, indicating cultural variations. These results advance insights into motivational factors influencing heroism in the context of restoring order and highlight the power of VR technology in examining social psychological hypotheses beyond ethical constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelou Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- International Data Group McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
| | - Jie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- International Data Group McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
| | - Ran Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- International Data Group McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
| | - Shen Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- International Data Group McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- International Data Group McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
| | - Tingting Wu
- Beijing Key Lab of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing100048, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- International Data Group McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
- National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
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2
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Rauchbauer B, Jank G, Dunbar RIM, Lamm C. Only empathy-related traits, not being mimicked or endorphin release, influence social closeness and prosocial behavior. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4072. [PMID: 36906682 PMCID: PMC10008555 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30946-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Seminal studies suggest that being mimicked increases experienced social closeness and prosocial behavior to a mimicking confederate (i.e., interaction partner). Here we reexamine these results by considering the role of empathy-related traits, an indirect proxy for endorphin uptake, and their combined effects as an explanation for these results. 180 female participants were mimicked or anti-mimicked in an interaction with a confederate. The effects of being mimicked versus anti-mimicked in relation to empathy-related traits and endorphin release (assessed indirectly via pain tolerance) on experienced closeness and prosocial behavior were assessed using Bayesian analyses. Our results suggest that high individual empathy-related traits increase social closeness to the anti-mimicking and mimicking confederate and to one's romantic partner, as compared to mimicry alone. Results furthermore strongly suggest that high individual empathy-related traits increase prosocial behavior (donations and willingness to help) as compared to mimicry alone. These findings extend previous work by highlighting that empathy-related traits are more influential in creating positive effects on social closeness and prosocial behavior than a one-shot mimicking encounter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Rauchbauer
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010, Vienna, Austria.,Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010, Vienna, Austria.,Laboratoire Parole et Langage, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, 5 Avenue Pasteur, 13100, Aix-en-Provence, France.,Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, 3, Place Victor-Hugo, 13331, Marseille Cedex 3, France.,Institute of Language, Communication and the Brain, 13100, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Gabriela Jank
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010, Vienna, Austria
| | - Robin I M Dunbar
- Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Rd, Oxford, OX26GG, UK
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010, Vienna, Austria. .,Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010, Vienna, Austria.
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3
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Individual differences in brain structure and self-reported empathy in children. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:1078-1089. [PMID: 35338471 PMCID: PMC9458571 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-00993-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Empathy refers to the understanding and sharing of others’ emotions and comprises cognitive and affective components. Empathy is important for social functioning, and alterations in empathy have been demonstrated in many developmental or psychiatric disorders. While several studies have examined associations between empathy and brain structure in adults, few have investigated this relationship in children. Investigating associations between empathy and brain structure during childhood will help us to develop a deeper understanding of the neural correlates of empathy across the lifespan. A total of 125 children (66 females, mean age 10 years) underwent magnetic resonance imaging brain scans. Grey matter volume and cortical thickness from structural images were examined using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12) within Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM12) software. Children completed questionnaire measures of empathy (cognitive empathy, affective empathy: affective sharing, empathic concern, and empathic distress). In hypothesised region of interest analyses, individual differences in affective and cognitive empathy were related to grey matter volume in the insula and the precuneus. Although these relationships were of similar strength to those found in previous research, they did not survive correction for the total number of models computed. While no significant findings were detected between grey matter volume and empathy in exploratory whole-brain analysis, associations were found between cortical thickness and empathic concern in the right precentral gyrus. This study provides preliminary evidence that individual differences in self-reported empathy in children may be related to aspects of brain structure. Findings highlight the need for more research investigating the neurobiological correlates of empathy in children.
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Novak L, Malinakova K, Mikoska P, van Dijk JP, Tavel P. Neural correlates of compassion - An integrative systematic review. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 172:46-59. [PMID: 34963634 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Compassion is a psychological construct that has received increasing attention in recent years. Even though a lot of work has been done to identify neural correlates of empathy across studies, such work has not been properly done on neural correlates of compassion. Therefore, the aim was to systematically review the literature on neural correlates of compassion. We have searched through PsycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science for relevant articles published between 1985 and 2020. We included the studies (n = 35) examining the relationship between brain structure or function and compassion. Screening was performed by two authors, between whom a level of agreement was calculated. The quality of the studies was assessed by measures used in other studies as well by measures specific for our study aims. This study was conducted under PRISMA guidelines. Our analysis revealed that the most frequent neural associations with compassion across all analysed studies can be found in the orbital part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, in the right cerebellum, the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, in the bilateral insula and the right caudate nucleus. Our findings suggest that people displaying a lower compassion tend to have either lower neural activity or a grey matter volume in neural areas associated with reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Novak
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic; Department of Community and Occupational Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Klara Malinakova
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Mikoska
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jitse P van Dijk
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic; Department of Community and Occupational Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, P.J. Safarik University in Kosice, Kosice, Slovak Republic
| | - Peter Tavel
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
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Rusch H. Heroic behavior: A review of the literature on high-stakes altruism in the wild. Curr Opin Psychol 2021; 43:238-243. [PMID: 34454246 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
This review compiles and contextualizes the available empirical literature on natural occurrences of high-stakes altruism among nonrelatives, i.e., behaviors often called 'heroic'. Four domains are covered: exceptional bravery and self-sacrifice in war, heroism in civilian life, undirected organ donations, and rescues of persecuted persons during mass violence and genocides. The diversity of strategies used to identify instances of heroic behavior and the multiplicity of data collection methods employed in this relatively sparse literature currently preclude a systematic comparison of results. Therefore, the aim of this overview is to provide an exhaustive point of entry to a fascinating field of research with much untapped potential for testing theories about prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannes Rusch
- Microeconomics and Public Economics, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
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Tsai SP. CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS ADOPTING VIRTUAL REALITY MODALITY: THEORIZATION AND VALIDATION. JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMPUTING AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/10919392.2021.1926843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Pei Tsai
- Distinguished Professor,Ph.D. Program in Communication Studies, Shih Hsin University Taipei Taiwan
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7
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Lu C, Liang L, Chen W, Bian Y. Do gifts of roses have a lingering fragrance? Evidence from altruistic interventions into adolescents' subjective well-being. J Adolesc 2020; 86:54-63. [PMID: 33310202 DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/07/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Studies have found that adolescents' subjective well-being (SWB) shows a downward trend with age. The improvement of adolescents' SWB is therefore an urgent problem. According to previous studies, altruism may be an effective way to improve adolescents' SWB. We conducted an Integrative Educational Intervention of Altruism (IEIA) for the first time to determine whether altruism intervention can effectively improve adolescents' SWB. METHODS We conducted an IEIA on adolescents in an experimental group for 14 weeks using pre- and post-test experimental designs with peer groups. The participants were randomly recruited from a junior high school in East China and included 280 Grade 8 students (138 boys and 142 girls; mean age: 14.53 years). Before and after the experiment, the adolescents completed measures of SWB using the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale and Happiness Scale. RESULTS From the pretest, we found no significant differences in friendship, academic, freedom, school and social satisfaction or positive emotions between the control and experimental groups. However, in the post-test, the life satisfaction and positive emotions of the experimental group were rated significantly higher than those of the control group. These results show that experimental intervention can effectively improve adolescents' life satisfaction and positive emotions. CONCLUSIONS Altruistic intervention was identified as an effective way to improve adolescents' SWB. It is thus necessary to cultivate altruistic environments, to enrich altruistic education programs, and to carry out voluntary services for the benefit of the public. Altruistic adolescents themselves may benefit when helping others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caixia Lu
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Lichan Liang
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Wenting Chen
- Faculty of English, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yufang Bian
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Child and Family Education Research Center, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Mental Health and Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
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8
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Patil I, Larsen EM, Kichic R, Gleichgerrcht E. Moral Cognition About Harm in Anxiety Disorders: The Importance of Experienced Emotion. Psychol Rep 2020; 124:2501-2523. [PMID: 33028157 DOI: 10.1177/0033294120964134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Recent work has shown that emotional arousal influences decision-making in sacrificial moral dilemmas, with heightened levels of arousal associated with increased aversion to committing moral transgressions to maximize utilitarian outcomes. Patients with anxiety disorders experience pathologically heightened states of arousal and thus may be expected to exhibit reduced utilitarian responding on such dilemmas. Extant evidence has been mixed, however, regarding whether anxious patients differ in their moral decisions from controls, and no study has conducted a careful examination of emotions experienced during decision-making. We administered sacrificial moral dilemmas to a cohort of 95 patients from across the spectrum of anxiety disorders to test whether they differed from matched controls on a) utilitarian decision-making, and b) ratings of experienced emotion during the moral deliberative process. Results showed no group differences between patients and controls on endorsement of utilitarian sacrificial action or on reported experience of emotionality during the experiment. Additionally, exploratory analysis revealed that specific emotions were correlated with utilitarian judgments. These results are in line with the Dual Process Theory model's prediction that decreased utilitarian responding will be concomitant with an increased emotional arousal. Our findings support past work indicating that moral cognition is intact in anxiety disorders despite the emotional dysregulation characteristic of anxious psychopathology. Future work would benefit from the use of process-dissociation techniques to further clarify whether emotional or cognitive processes may differ in anxiety disorders during moral cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indrajeet Patil
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Center for Humans and Machines, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Emmett M Larsen
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Rafael Kichic
- Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Zaleskiewicz T, Gasiorowska A, Kuzminska AO, Korotusz P, Tomczak P. Market mindset impacts moral decisions: The exposure to market relationships makes moral choices more utilitarian by means of proportional thinking. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Zaleskiewicz
- Center for Research in Economic Behavior SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities Wroclaw Poland
| | - Agata Gasiorowska
- Center for Research in Economic Behavior SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities Wroclaw Poland
| | | | - Przemyslaw Korotusz
- Center for Research in Economic Behavior SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities Wroclaw Poland
| | - Pawel Tomczak
- Center for Research in Economic Behavior SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities Wroclaw Poland
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Kim JJ, Cunnington R, Kirby JN. The neurophysiological basis of compassion: An fMRI meta-analysis of compassion and its related neural processes. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 108:112-123. [PMID: 31697955 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Theoretical and neurophysiological investigations into compassion are burgeoning, yet the putative neural mechanisms which underpin such processes are less well understood. Therefore, we have conducted an Activation-Likelihood Estimate meta-analysis in order to ascertain the shared neural processes consistently identified as relevant to compassion. Our analysis of sixteen fMRI studies revealed activation across seven broad regions, with the largest peaks localized to the Periaqueductal Grey, Anterior Insula, Anterior Cingulate, and Inferior Frontal Gyrus. Overall, we identified a tendency for studies to operationalize compassion in one of three ways, as driven either 'top-down', 'bottom-up', or modified by target context. We failed to identify regions purportedly common to compassion such as the DLPFC, OFC, and Amygdala, possibly due to a small number of studies which used Loving-Kindness meditation. We argue future research in compassion science continue a multi-modal approach to examine links between neural activity and actual prosocial behavior, and recommend the application of fMRI paradigms on compassion with clinically diagnosed populations to parallel current trends in psychotherapy such as Compassion Focused Therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey J Kim
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Compassionate Mind Research Group, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Ross Cunnington
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Compassionate Mind Research Group, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - James N Kirby
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Compassionate Mind Research Group, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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11
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Watkins HM, Brandt M. The moral landscape of war: A registered report testing how the war context shapes morality's constraints on default representations of possibility. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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12
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Zhu R, Feng C, Zhang S, Mai X, Liu C. Differentiating guilt and shame in an interpersonal context with univariate activation and multivariate pattern analyses. Neuroimage 2019; 186:476-486. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Revised: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin G. DeYoung
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Robert F. Krueger
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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14
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Wang X, Han J, Li F, Cao B. Both Rewards and Moral Praise Can Increase the Prosocial Decisions: Revealed in a Modified Ultimatum Game Task. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1865. [PMID: 30337899 PMCID: PMC6180182 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2017] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Unlike other creatures, humans developed the ability to cooperate with genetically unrelated strangers and a tendency to comply with social norms. However, humans deviate from social norms in various situations. This study used the modified ultimatum game to explore why humans deviate from social norms and how their prosocial behavior can be promoted. In Study 1, participants were asked to imagine working with an anonymous counterpart to complete a task and obtain a certain amount of money (e.g., ¥10). The computer divided the money randomly in favor of the participant (e.g., 9:1 or 8:2). Participants should decide whether to accept or reject such a self-benefiting division. In the non-risk condition, an absolutely fair redivision of money would take place if participants reject self-benefiting division (e.g., 5:5 or 6:4). By contrast, in the risk condition, other-benefiting redivision of money (e.g., 1:9 or 2:8) would take place if participants rejected the self-benefiting division. Results involving 40 college students showed the main effect of condition. The frequency of accepting self-benefiting division in the risk condition was higher than that in the non-risk condition. As such, compliance with social norms is based on the preservation of material resources. In Study 2, we used economic or moral rewards to compensate for economic loss following compliance with the norm. Results involving 28 college students revealed a significant effect of compensation. The rewards, including moral praise, effectively decreased selfish choices. These findings extend previous studies on social norm compliance by emphasizing the importance of internal, fairness-based balance between material and moral needs, as well as the role of moral praise in promoting prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangling Wang
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Jiahui Han
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Fuhong Li
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
- College of Teachers, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Bihua Cao
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
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Brethel-Haurwitz KM, Cardinale EM, Vekaria KM, Robertson EL, Walitt B, VanMeter JW, Marsh AA. Extraordinary Altruists Exhibit Enhanced Self-Other Overlap in Neural Responses to Distress. Psychol Sci 2018; 29:1631-1641. [PMID: 30130165 DOI: 10.1177/0956797618779590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Shared neural representations during experienced and observed distress are hypothesized to reflect empathic neural simulation, which may support altruism. But the correspondence between real-world altruism and shared neural representations has not been directly tested, and empathy's role in promoting altruism toward strangers has been questioned. Here, we show that individuals who have performed costly altruism (donating a kidney to a stranger; n = 25) exhibit greater self-other overlap than matched control participants ( n = 27) in neural representations of pain and threat (fearful anticipation) in anterior insula (AI) during an empathic-pain paradigm. Altruists exhibited greater self-other correspondence in pain-related activation in left AI, highlighting that group-level overlap was supported by individual-level associations between empathic pain and firsthand pain. Altruists exhibited enhanced functional coupling of left AI with left midinsula during empathic pain and threat. Results show that heightened neural instantiations of empathy correspond to real-world altruism and highlight limitations of self-report.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Brian Walitt
- 4 National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - John W VanMeter
- 5 Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Medical Center
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Hortensius R, de Gelder B. From Empathy to Apathy: The Bystander Effect Revisited. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2018; 27:249-256. [PMID: 30166777 PMCID: PMC6099971 DOI: 10.1177/0963721417749653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The bystander effect, the reduction in helping behavior in the presence of other people, has been explained predominantly by situational influences on decision making. Diverging from this view, we highlight recent evidence on the neural mechanisms and dispositional factors that determine apathy in bystanders. We put forward a new theoretical perspective that integrates emotional, motivational, and dispositional aspects. In the presence of other bystanders, personal distress is enhanced, and fixed action patterns of avoidance and freezing dominate. This new perspective suggests that bystander apathy results from a reflexive emotional reaction dependent on the personality of the bystander.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruud Hortensius
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Glasgow
| | - Beatrice de Gelder
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University.,Department of Computer Science, University College London
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17
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Francis KB, Gummerum M, Ganis G, Howard IS, Terbeck S. Virtual morality in the helping professions: Simulated action and resilience. Br J Psychol 2017; 109:442-465. [PMID: 29164607 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent advances in virtual technologies have allowed the investigation of simulated moral actions in aversive moral dilemmas. Previous studies have employed diverse populations to explore these actions, with little research considering the significance of occupation on moral decision-making. For the first time, in this study we have investigated simulated moral actions in virtual reality made by professionally trained paramedics and fire service incident commanders who are frequently faced with and must respond to moral dilemmas. We found that specially trained individuals showed distinct empathic and related personality trait scores and that these declined with years of experience working in the profession. Supporting the theory that these professionals develop resilience in moral conflict, reduced emotional arousal was observed during virtual simulations of a distressing dilemma. Furthermore, trained professionals demonstrated less regret following the execution of a moral action in virtual reality when compared to untrained control populations. We showed that, contrary to previous research, trained individuals made the same moral judgements and moral actions as untrained individuals, though showing less arousal and regret. In the face of increasing concerns regarding empathy decline in health care professionals, we suggest that the nature of this decline is complex and likely reflects the development of a necessary emotional resilience to distressing events.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Giorgio Ganis
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Ian S Howard
- Centre for Robotics and Neural Systems, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Sylvia Terbeck
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
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Simulating Moral Actions: An Investigation of Personal Force in Virtual Moral Dilemmas. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13954. [PMID: 29066760 PMCID: PMC5654774 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13909-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Advances in Virtual Reality (VR) technologies allow the investigation of simulated moral actions in visually immersive environments. Using a robotic manipulandum and an interactive sculpture, we now also incorporate realistic haptic feedback into virtual moral simulations. In two experiments, we found that participants responded with greater utilitarian actions in virtual and haptic environments when compared to traditional questionnaire assessments of moral judgments. In experiment one, when incorporating a robotic manipulandum, we found that the physical power of simulated utilitarian responses (calculated as the product of force and speed) was predicted by individual levels of psychopathy. In experiment two, which integrated an interactive and life-like sculpture of a human into a VR simulation, greater utilitarian actions continued to be observed. Together, these results support a disparity between simulated moral action and moral judgment. Overall this research combines state-of-the-art virtual reality, robotic movement simulations, and realistic human sculptures, to enhance moral paradigms that are often contextually impoverished. As such, this combination provides a better assessment of simulated moral action, and illustrates the embodied nature of morally-relevant actions.
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Zhang H, Chen S, Wang R, Jiang J, Xu Y, Zhao H. How Upward Moral Comparison Influences Prosocial Behavioral Intention: Examining the Mediating Role of Guilt and the Moderating Role of Moral Identity. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1554. [PMID: 28959221 PMCID: PMC5604077 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it has been shown that exceptional good deeds exert influences on people's prosocial behavior and intention, we have known little about how common moral actions in our daily life. The present study aimed to examine how upward moral comparison influenced prosocial behavioral intention as well as to explore the mediating role of guilt and the moderating role of moral identity in the focal relationship. An experimental study was conducted with 162 Chinese undergraduates (103 women, 59 men) randomly assigned to an upward moral comparison condition, an upward competence comparison condition or a control condition. Results indicated that participants in the upward moral comparison condition experienced higher levels of guilt and exhibited stronger motivation to act prosocially, relative to participants in the other two conditions. That is to say, upward moral comparison induces guilty experience, and then increases people's prosocial behavioral intention. Moreover, we have found that moral identity internalization moderates the upward moral comparison-guilt relationship, and the indirect effect of upward moral comparison on prosocial behavioral intention via guilt. The implications of these findings were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heyun Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China.,School of Social Administration, Shanghai University of Political Science and LawShanghai, China
| | - Sisi Chen
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Rong Wang
- College of Management, Shenzhen UniversityShenzhen, China
| | - Jiang Jiang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Yan Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Huanhuan Zhao
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal UniversityShanghai, China
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Abstract
Mature moral judgments rely both on a perpetrator’s intent to cause harm, and also on the actual harm caused–even when unintended. Much prior research asks how intent information is represented neurally, but little asks how even unintended harms influence judgment. We interrogate the psychological and neural basis of this process, focusing especially on the role of empathy for the victim of a harmful act. Using fMRI, we found that the ‘empathy for pain’ network was involved in encoding harmful outcomes and integrating harmfulness information for different types of moral judgments, and individual differences in the extent to which this network was active during encoding and integration of harmfulness information determined severity of moral judgments. Additionally, activity in the network was down-regulated for acceptability, but not blame, judgments for accidental harm condition, suggesting that these two types of moral evaluations are neurobiologically dissociable. These results support a model of “empathic blame”, whereby the perceived suffering of a victim colors moral judgment of an accidental harmdoer.
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Patil I, Calò M, Fornasier F, Young L, Silani G. Neuroanatomical correlates of forgiving unintentional harms. Sci Rep 2017; 7:45967. [PMID: 28382935 PMCID: PMC5382676 DOI: 10.1038/srep45967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Mature moral judgments rely on the consideration of a perpetrator’s mental state as well as harmfulness of the outcomes produced. Prior work has focused primarily on the functional correlates of how intent information is neurally represented for moral judgments, but few studies have investigated whether individual differences in neuroanatomy can also explain variation in moral judgments. In the current study, we conducted voxel-based morphometry analyses to address this question. We found that local grey matter volume in the left anterior superior temporal sulcus, a region in the functionally defined theory of mind or mentalizing network, was associated with the degree to which participants relied on information about innocent intentions to forgive accidental harms. Our findings provide further support for the key role of mentalizing in the forgiveness of accidental harms and contribute preliminary evidence for the neuroanatomical basis of individual differences in moral judgments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indrajeet Patil
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Neuroscience Sector, Trieste, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Liane Young
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Boston, USA
| | - Giorgia Silani
- Department of Applied Psychology: Health, Development, Enhancement and Intervention, University of Vienna, Austria
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