Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm
Why do interactions become more hostile when social relations shift from "me versus you" to "us versus them"? One possibility is that acting with a group can reduce spontaneous self-referential processing in the moral domain and, in turn, facilitate competitor harm. We tested thi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2017
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112316 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2377-1791 |
| _version_ | 1826211333012455424 |
|---|---|
| author | Cikara, M. Jenkins, A.C. Dufour, Nicholas Paul Saxe, Rebecca R |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Cikara, M. Jenkins, A.C. Dufour, Nicholas Paul Saxe, Rebecca R |
| author_sort | Cikara, M. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Why do interactions become more hostile when social relations shift from "me versus you" to "us versus them"? One possibility is that acting with a group can reduce spontaneous self-referential processing in the moral domain and, in turn, facilitate competitor harm. We tested this hypothesis in an fMRI experiment in which (i) participants performed a competitive task once alone and once with a group; (ii) spontaneous self-referential processing during competition was indexed unobtrusively by activation in an independently localized region of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) associated with self-reference; and (iii) we assessed participants' willingness to harm competitors versus teammates. As predicted, participants who showed reduced mPFC activation in response to descriptions of their own moral behaviors while competing in a group were more willing to harm competitors. These results suggest that intergroup competition (above and beyond inter-personal competition) can reduce self-referential processing of moral information, enabling harmful behaviors towards members of a competitive group. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:04:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/112316 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:04:14Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1123162022-09-29T12:29:18Z Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm Cikara, M. Jenkins, A.C. Dufour, Nicholas Paul Saxe, Rebecca R Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Dufour, Nicholas Paul Saxe, Rebecca R Why do interactions become more hostile when social relations shift from "me versus you" to "us versus them"? One possibility is that acting with a group can reduce spontaneous self-referential processing in the moral domain and, in turn, facilitate competitor harm. We tested this hypothesis in an fMRI experiment in which (i) participants performed a competitive task once alone and once with a group; (ii) spontaneous self-referential processing during competition was indexed unobtrusively by activation in an independently localized region of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) associated with self-reference; and (iii) we assessed participants' willingness to harm competitors versus teammates. As predicted, participants who showed reduced mPFC activation in response to descriptions of their own moral behaviors while competing in a group were more willing to harm competitors. These results suggest that intergroup competition (above and beyond inter-personal competition) can reduce self-referential processing of moral information, enabling harmful behaviors towards members of a competitive group. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (Grant 1F32HD068086-01A1) United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant N000140910845) 2017-11-28T20:36:28Z 2017-11-28T20:36:28Z 2014-04 2017-11-20T12:55:45Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1053-8119 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112316 Cikara, M. et al. “Reduced Self-Referential Neural Response During Intergroup Competition Predicts Competitor Harm.” NeuroImage 96 (August 2014): 36–43 © 2014 Elsevier https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2377-1791 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.NEUROIMAGE.2014.03.080 NeuroImage Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ application/pdf Elsevier PMC |
| spellingShingle | Cikara, M. Jenkins, A.C. Dufour, Nicholas Paul Saxe, Rebecca R Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm |
| title | Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm |
| title_full | Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm |
| title_fullStr | Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm |
| title_short | Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm |
| title_sort | reduced self referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112316 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2377-1791 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cikaram reducedselfreferentialneuralresponseduringintergroupcompetitionpredictscompetitorharm AT jenkinsac reducedselfreferentialneuralresponseduringintergroupcompetitionpredictscompetitorharm AT dufournicholaspaul reducedselfreferentialneuralresponseduringintergroupcompetitionpredictscompetitorharm AT saxerebeccar reducedselfreferentialneuralresponseduringintergroupcompetitionpredictscompetitorharm |