A Key Role for Similarity in Vicarious Reward
Open accessAbstract
A functional magnetic resonance imaging study reveals the interactions within the brain that modulate feelings of reward on seeing a similar person win a contest.
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People value seeing charities they think are important or people similar to themselves receive rewards.
“In particular, people value seeing charities they think are important 59 or people similar to themselves receive rewards 62.”
From The social brain and reward: Social information processing in the human striatum (2014) · cites this paper as [62]
People value vicarious rewards and exhibit increased ventral striatum activity even when they are not responsible for the reward.
“Interestingly, people value vicarious rewards and exhibit increased ventral striatum activity even when they are not responsible for the reward 61–63.”
From The social brain and reward: Social information processing in the human striatum (2014) · cites this paper as [62]
Several studies link activity in the striatum with giving behavior, suggesting that striatum activity signals the benefits of giving.
“Several studies link activity in the striatum with giving behavior, suggesting that striatum activity signals the benefits of giving 59–63.”
From The social brain and reward: Social information processing in the human striatum (2014) · cites this paper as [62]
Ventral and dorsal striatum appear to signal a vicarious reward when other parties (i.e., a charity or another person) receive rewards, regardless of whether any enhanced reputation can be gained.
“That is, ventral and dorsal striatum appear to signal a vicarious reward when other parties (i.e., a charity or another person) receive rewards, regardless of whether any enhanced reputation can be gained 60–63.”
From The social brain and reward: Social information processing in the human striatum (2014) · cites this paper as [62]
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- Authors
- Mobbs, D., Yu, R., Meyer, M., Passamonti, L., Seymour, B., Calder, A. J., Schweizer, S., Frith, C. D., & Dalgleish, T.
- Affiliations
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (GB)
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Mobbs, Dean
- Yu, Rongjun
- Meyer, Marcel
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2009-05-15
- Volume
- 324
- Issue
- 5929
- Pages
- 900-900
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- PMC
- PMC2839480
- OpenAlex
- W1969585040
- Cited by
- 270
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 9.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Cambridge University Engineering Department Publications Database (submittedVersion)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Economic and Social Research Council (RES-538-28-1001)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Keywords
- similarity, prosocial behavior, kin selection, ventral striatum, anterior cingulate cortex, game shows, social neuroscience
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Basal Ganglia, Brain Mapping, Empathy, Female, Games, Experimental, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Reward, Self Concept, Social Behavior, Social Desirability, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult
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