A Neurocognitive Perspective on the Development of Social Decision-Making

Abstract

In this chapter, we review evidence for the hypothesis that developmental changes in cognitive control and perspective taking are crucial in understanding age-related changes in social behavior. Studies that have examined the developmental roots of prosocial behavior using experimental economic games show that other-oriented concern and a preference for fairness emerge early in development. Continued development of intentionality understanding and strategic behavior in bargaining situations suggest that perspective taking and cognitive control undergo extended development and continue to contribute to changes in social behavior well into adolescence. Functional neuroimaging studies have shown that these behavioral changes are accompanied by an increased recruitment of brain regions implicated in cognitive control (e.g., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and perspective taking (e.g., temporoparietal junction). Together these studies show that developmental changes in cognitive control and perspective taking and their underlying neural circuitry are associated with progressively more strategic thinking and an increased incorporation of other’s perspectives into social decision-making across development.