Cited by 102Experimental Behavioral Economics StudiesNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesPsychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 47 of the 47 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 45 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Neurobiological Mechanisms of Responding to Injustice

Open access
Stallen, Mirre, Rossi, Filippo, Heijne, Amber, Smidts, Ale, De Dreu, Carsten K.W., Sanfey, Alan G.·2018·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

People are particularly sensitive to injustice. Accordingly, deeper knowledge regarding the processes that underlie the perception of injustice, and the subsequent decisions to either punish transgressors or compensate victims, is of important social value. By combining a novel decision-making paradigm with functional neuroimaging, we identified specific brain networks that are involved with both the perception of, and response to, social injustice, with reward-related regions preferentially involved in punishment compared with compensation. Developing a computational model of punishment allowed for disentangling the neural mechanisms and psychological motives underlying decisions of whether to punish and, subsequently, of how severely to punish. Results show that the neural mechanisms underlying punishment differ depending on whether one is directly affected by the injustice, or whether one is a third-party observer of a violation occurring to another. Specifically, the anterior insula was involved in decisions to punish following harm, whereas, in third-party scenarios, we found amygdala activity associated with punishment severity. Additionally, we used a pharmacological intervention using oxytocin, and found that oxytocin influenced participants' fairness expectations, and in particular enhanced the frequency of low punishments. Together, these results not only provide more insight into the fundamental brain mechanisms underlying punishment and compensation, but also illustrate the importance of taking an explorative, multimethod approach when unraveling the complex components of everyday decision-making. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The perception of injustice is a fundamental precursor to many disagreements, from small struggles at the dinner table to wasteful conflict between cultures and countries. Despite its clear importance, relatively little is known about how the brain processes these violations. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, we combine methods from neuroscience, psychology, and economics to explore the neurobiological mechanisms involved in both the perception of injustice as well as the punishment and compensation decisions that follow. Using a novel behavioral paradigm, we identified specific brain networks, developed a computational model of punishment, and found that administrating the neuropeptide oxytocin increases the administration of low punishments of norm violations in particular. Results provide valuable insights into the fundamental neurobiological mechanisms underlying social injustice.

Overview

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Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a novel Justice Game with fMRI and intranasal oxytocin, participants preferred punishment over compensation, and punishment decisions dissociated into willingness to punish and severity. Anterior insula tracked willingness to punish especially in second-party contexts, amygdala tracked severity in third-party contexts, and oxytocin increased low punishments and fairness expectations.

Key findings

  • Participants spent more chips in second-party punishment (M = 38.07, SD = 23.55) than third-party punishment (M = 23.52, SD = 18.47) and compensation (M = 13.93, SD = 11.63); punishment exceeded compensation, t(53) = 6.06, p < 0.001.
  • Ventral striatum activity was higher for punishment versus compensation decisions, while temporal parietal junction activity was associated with deciding not to punish.
  • The computational model best fit was Model 4 (LL = 162, AIC = 333, R² = 0.68, accuracy = 46%), supporting separable willingness-to-punish and punishment-severity parameters; anterior insula correlated with willingness to punish in second-party games, and amygdala correlated with punishment severity in third-party games.
  • Oxytocin did not affect mean punishment or compensation (F(1,52) = 0.12, p = 0.742) but increased low punishments in second-party games (interaction p = 0.050) and, in third-party games, more strongly as the amount taken increased (p = 0.017); oxytocin-group participants more often changed expectations to expect no chips (12/27 vs 3/27, χ²(1) = 7.45, p = 0.006).

Methods

  • Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled between-subjects design with 55 males (28 oxytocin); behavioral analyses used 54 participants, and neuroimaging/model analyses used 53 participants.
  • The Justice Game comprised 144 trials across second-party punishment, third-party punishment, and third-party compensation conditions, with preprogrammed fair and unfair Taker choices; fMRI data were analyzed with GLMs and ROI analyses in anterior insula, amygdala, and DLPFC.
  • A computational utility model with parameters for willingness to punish and punishment severity was fit by minimizing residual sum of squares and compared with Nash equilibrium and inequity aversion models.

Limitations

  • Stated: the lack of oxytocin effects on compensation may be due to restriction of range; neural interactions may require larger sample sizes; DLPFC involvement in third-party punishment needs larger-sample follow-up.
  • Stated: inferring psychological processes from brain activity requires caution.
  • Evident: all participants were male, limiting generalizability; the exploratory correlational ROI analyses cannot establish causal mechanisms.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.1242-17.2018

Cites

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  • It may state two separate claims as one. 14
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 14
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
27 of 27
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    People are particularly sensitive to injustice.

    “People are particularly sensitive to injustice.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Violations of social norms trigger an emotional response in the victims of such violations and can also lead to strong responses from third parties.

    “In fact, violations of social norms, standards of behavior that are based on widely shared beliefs about how one should behave, not only trigger an emotional response in the”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Relatively little is known about how the brain processes violations of social norms.

    “Despite its clear importance, relatively little is known about how the brain processes these violations.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The amount of chips taken by the Taker indexes the magnitude of the social norm violation.

    “the more that was taken from the victim”
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Metadata

Authors
Stallen, M., Rossi, F., Heijne, A., Smidts, A., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Sanfey, A. G.
Affiliations
  • Leiden University (NL)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2018-02-19
Volume
38
Issue
12
Pages
2944-2954
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2788810732
Cited by
102
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5
FWCI
18.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • ERIM Top-Core Articles
Funders
  • Erasmus Research Institute of Management
  • FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (313454)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Keywords
social injustice, punishment decisions, compensation decisions, fairness, third-party punishment, anterior insula, amygdala, oxytocin, reward processing, norm violation
MeSH terms
Brain, Computer Simulation, Decision Making, Double-Blind Method, Humans, Male, Oxytocin, Punishment, Reward, Social Justice, Compensation and Redress, Young Adult

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