Abstract
Gaze direction is a common social cue implying potential interpersonal interaction. However, little is known about the neural processing of social decision making influenced by perceived gaze direction. Here, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) method to investigate 27 females when they were engaging in an economic exchange game task during which photos of direct or averted eye gaze were shown. We found that, when averted but not direct gaze was presented, prosocial vs. selfish choices were associated with stronger activations in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) as well as larger functional couplings between right STG and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Moreover, stronger activations in right STG was associated with quicker actions for making prosocial choice accompanied with averted gaze. The findings suggest that, when the cue implying social contact is absent, the processing of understanding others’ intention and the relationship between self and others is more involved for making prosocial than selfish decisions. These findings could advance our understanding of the roles of subtle cues in influencing prosocial decision making, as well as shedding lights on deficient social cue processing and functioning among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Highlights
Prosocial behaviors are the cornerstone of a harmonic society (Keltner et al, 2014), and are associated with complex considerations of benefits and intentions of both self and others (Rilling and Sanfey, 2011)
A significant interaction between gaze direction and choice was detected in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) (Brodmann’s area 42/22, cluster size = 227 voxels, T value = 4.24, peak MNI coordinates = [70, −30, 16], FWE-corrected cluster-level p value = 0.047, see Figure 2A), characterized by stronger activations during prosocial choices vs. selfish choices when presented with averted gaze than direct gaze
Little is known about its influences on social decision making integral to everyday social functioning (Rilling and Sanfey, 2011)
Summary
Prosocial behaviors are the cornerstone of a harmonic society (Keltner et al, 2014), and are associated with complex considerations of benefits and intentions of both self and others (Rilling and Sanfey, 2011). Recent work showed that prosocial actions can be promoted in the presence of eyes or eye-like stimuli (Haley and Fessler, 2005; Nettle et al, 2013), suggesting the role of the eyes in effectively biasing social decision making. Little is known about the neural processing of social decision making modulated by perceived gaze direction. Prosocial decisions are more associated with attributions of the intentions and desires of counterparts, the so-called Theory of Mind (ToM; Baron-Cohen et al, 1985). According to this theory, understanding others’ needs and thoughts may promote the
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