Decoding fairness motivations from multivariate brain activity patterns.

ABSTRACT: A preference for fairness may originate from prosocial or strategic motivations: we may wish to improve others' well-being or avoid the repercussions of selfish behavior. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify neural patterns that dissociate these two motivations. Participants played both the ultimatum and dictator game (UG-DG) as proposers. Because responders can reject the offer in the UG, but not the DG, offers and neural patterns between the games should differ for strategic players but not prosocial players. Using multivariate pattern analysis, we found that the decoding accuracy of neural patterns associated with UG and DG decisions correlated significantly with differences in offers between games in regions associated with theory of mind (ToM), such as the t

SUBMITTER: Speer SPH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7057284 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature