Social Support Modulates Neural Responses to Unfairness in the Ultimatum Game

The current functional MRI study aimed to investigate how responders’ fairness considerations and related decision-making processes were affected by social support in the ultimatum game (UG). During scanning, responders either played the standard UG with proposers (control condition) or played the modified UG in which three unknown observers showed social support for responders by acknowledging proposers’ norm violation. Results revealed that participants reported higher unfairness feelings and rejection rates of unfair offers in the social support condition relative to the control condition. At the neural level, compared to the control condition, perception of social support from others induced greater activations of anterior cingulate gyrus and right anterior insula when receiving unfair (vs. fair) offers. The medial prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula were more active when the unfair offers were rejected (vs. accepted) in the social support condition than the control condition. These results highlighted the modulation effect of social support on responders’ fairness considerations and related decision-making processes.

[1]  M. Arsalidou,et al.  Brain responses to social norms: Meta‐analyses of fMRI studies , 2018, Human brain mapping.

[2]  Xiuyan Guo,et al.  Gender Differences in Behavioral and Neural Responses to Unfairness Under Social Pressure , 2017, Scientific Reports.

[3]  Li Zheng,et al.  Proposers’ Economic Status Affects Behavioral and Neural Responses to Unfairness , 2017, Front. Psychol..

[4]  Li Zheng,et al.  Anterior insula signals inequalities in a modified Ultimatum Game , 2017, Neuroscience.

[5]  Yu L. L. Luo,et al.  Be Strong Enough to Say No: Self-Affirmation Increases Rejection to Unfair Offers , 2016, Front. Psychol..

[6]  Qusai Mohammed Harahsheh.  Social Support and Mental Health , 2016 .

[7]  Mary Beth Nebel,et al.  Intrinsic Visual-Motor Synchrony Correlates With Social Deficits in Autism , 2016, Biological Psychiatry.

[8]  A. Lord,et al.  Power to Punish Norm Violations Affects the Neural Processes of Fairness-Related Decision Making , 2015, Front. Behav. Neurosci..

[9]  C. Miniussi,et al.  Medial prefrontal cortex reacts to unfairness if this damages the self: a tDCS study. , 2015, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[10]  Z. Dienes,et al.  Whether others were treated equally affects neural responses to unfairness in the Ultimatum Game. , 2015, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[11]  Li Zheng,et al.  Neural responses to unfairness and fairness depend on self-contribution to the income. , 2014, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[12]  Alexander J. Rothman,et al.  The Relation between Social Support and Smoking Cessation: Revisiting an Established Measure to Improve Prediction , 2014, Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

[13]  K. Kendrick,et al.  Conformity to the Opinions of Other People Lasts for No More Than 3 Days , 2014, Psychological science.

[14]  Lei Zhu,et al.  Increased neural responses to unfairness in a loss context , 2013, NeuroImage.

[15]  M. Maroun,et al.  Medial Prefrontal Cortex , 2013, The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry.

[16]  Gereon R Fink,et al.  Disentangling self- and fairness-related neural mechanisms involved in the ultimatum game: an fMRI study. , 2013, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[17]  T. Lohrenz,et al.  Computational Substrates of Norms and Their Violations during Social Exchange , 2013, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[18]  Aldo Rustichini,et al.  Equality versus self-interest in the brain: Differential roles of anterior insula and medial prefrontal cortex , 2012, NeuroImage.

[19]  R. Marois,et al.  The roots of modern justice: cognitive and neural foundations of social norms and their enforcement , 2012, Nature Neuroscience.

[20]  Luke J. Chang,et al.  Great expectations: neural computations underlying the use of social norms in decision-making. , 2011, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[21]  Xiaolin Zhou,et al.  Social distance modulates recipient's fairness consideration in the dictator game: An ERP study , 2011, Biological Psychology.

[22]  E. Fehr,et al.  Dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex orchestrate normative choice , 2011, Nature Neuroscience.

[23]  Serge A. R. B. Rombouts,et al.  Dissociable brain networks involved in development of fairness considerations: Understanding intentionality behind unfairness , 2011, NeuroImage.

[24]  Xiaolin Zhou,et al.  Sharing losses and sharing gains: Increased demand for fairness under adversity , 2011 .

[25]  P. Montague,et al.  Interoception Drives Increased Rational Decision-Making in Meditators Playing the Ultimatum Game , 2011, Front. Neurosci..

[26]  Justin S. Feinstein,et al.  The Human Amygdala and the Induction and Experience of Fear , 2011, Current Biology.

[27]  M. Haruno,et al.  Activity in the amygdala elicited by unfair divisions predicts social value orientation , 2009, Nature Neuroscience.

[28]  Toshio Yamagishi,et al.  The private rejection of unfair offers and emotional commitment , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[29]  David H. Zald,et al.  The Neural Correlates of Third-Party Punishment , 2008, Neuron.

[30]  Matthew D. Lieberman,et al.  The Sunny Side of Fairness , 2008, Psychological science.

[31]  U. Fischbacher,et al.  The Neural Signature of Social Norm Compliance , 2007, Neuron.

[32]  C. Frith,et al.  Meeting of minds: the medial frontal cortex and social cognition , 2006, Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

[33]  Alan G. Sanfey,et al.  Affective state and decision-making in the Ultimatum Game , 2006, Experimental Brain Research.

[34]  Karl J. Friston,et al.  Unified segmentation , 2005, NeuroImage.

[35]  W. Wood,et al.  Social Influence in Attitudes and Attitude Change. , 2005 .

[36]  Jonathan D. Cohen,et al.  The Neural Basis of Economic Decision-Making in the Ultimatum Game , 2003, Science.

[37]  Lisa M Shin,et al.  Neuroimaging Studies of Amygdala Function in Anxiety Disorders , 2003, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[38]  Benjamin H. Gottlieb,et al.  Social support measurement and intervention: A guide for health and social scientists. , 2000 .

[39]  M. Nowak,et al.  Fairness versus reason in the ultimatum game. , 2000, Science.

[40]  Einar B. Thorsteinsson,et al.  A Meta-analysis of the effects of experimental manipulations of social support during laboratory stress , 1999 .

[41]  Karl J. Friston,et al.  Characterizing Stimulus–Response Functions Using Nonlinear Regressors in Parametric fMRI Experiments , 1998, NeuroImage.

[42]  Sophie K. Scott,et al.  Impaired auditory recognition of fear and anger following bilateral amygdala lesions , 1997, Nature.

[43]  A Steptoe,et al.  Stress, social support and health-related behavior: a study of smoking, alcohol consumption and physical exercise. , 1996, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[44]  Gary E. Bolton,et al.  Anonymity versus Punishment in Ultimatum Bargaining , 1995 .

[45]  R. Thaler,et al.  Anomalies: Ultimatums, Dictators and Manners , 1995 .

[46]  S. Folkman,et al.  The impact of daily stress on health and mood: psychological and social resources as mediators. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[47]  P. Thoits.  Social support as coping assistance. , 1986, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[48]  T. Wills,et al.  Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. , 1985, Psychological bulletin.

[49]  W. Güth,et al.  An experimental analysis of ultimatum bargaining , 1982 .

[50]  R. Turner.  Social support as a contingency in psychological well-being. , 1981 .

[51]  B. Wilcox,et al.  Social support, life stress, and psychological adjustment: A test of the buffering hypothesis , 1981, American journal of community psychology.

[52]  S. Cobb.  Presidential Address-1976. Social support as a moderator of life stress. , 1976, Psychosomatic medicine.

[53]  Alan G. Sanfey,et al.  The neural basis of fairness , 2017 .

[54]  Philip R. Blue,et al.  Social status modulates the neural response to unfairness. , 2016, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[55]  Hugh Lafferty,et al.  Strong Enough , 2011 .

[56]  Luo Yuejia,et al.  Revision of the Chinese Facial Affective Picture System , 2011 .

[57]  Regan A. R. Gurung,et al.  Close personal relationships and health outcomes: A key to the role of social support. , 1997 .

[58]  Daniel W. Russell,et al.  Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching. , 1990 .