Abstract
Prosocial behavior is critical for the natural development of an individual as well as for promoting social relationships. Although this complex behavior results from gratuitous acts occurring between an agent and a recipient and a wealth of literature on prosocial behavior has investigated these actions, little is known about the effects on the recipient and the neurobiology underlying them. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify neural correlates of receiving prosocial behavior in the context of real-world experiences, with different types of action provided by the agent, including practical help and effort appreciation. Practical help was associated with increased activation in a network of regions spanning across bilateral superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction, temporal pole, and medial prefrontal cortex. Effort appreciation was associated with activation and increased task-modulated connectivity of the occipital cortex. Prosocial-dependent brain responses were associated with positive affect. Our results support the role of the theory of mind network and the visual cortices in mediating the positive effects of receiving gratuitous help. Moreover, they indicate that specific types of prosocial behavior are mediated by distinct brain networks, which further demonstrates the uniqueness of the psychological processes underlying prosocial actions.
Highlights
Prosocial behaviors are a set of acts aimed directly at benefiting people other than oneself, and they entail helping, comforting, cooperation, and kindness (Batson, 2012)
The affect following practical help (80.5 ± 14.0%, mean ± SD) as well as effort appreciation (82.4 ± 16.3%) trials were rated more positively than in control condition (15.3 ± 9.5%; see Supplementary Materials for the distribution of response type per condition across subjects) and this difference was significant for both prosocial interaction conditions, but not between them (p > 0.1)
We found reduced connectivity of the rTPJ and lingual gyrus with the prefrontal cortex is reduced during both helping behavior conditions
Summary
Prosocial behaviors are a set of acts aimed directly at benefiting people other than oneself, and they entail helping, comforting, cooperation, and kindness (Batson, 2012). This definition comprises a broad number of behaviors ranging from providing support in response to an immediate physical threat to someone else, to helping someone to carry the grocery, or to listening supportively to the other person’s predicaments. Prosocial behaviors are altruistic in nature and sometimes they may have negative consequences for the person that delivers them, they have positive physical and mental long-term effects It is noteworthy that kind behavior predicted an increase in subjective happiness, which can mediate positive effects on well-being as well as on social relationships, and this can play an adaptive role (Otake and Fredrickson, 2012)
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