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What happens in the brain when people act from a true altruism – where there is nothing for them – and when they act with strategic kindness – when there is something to gain – Sussex.
They undertook a major analysis of existing research showing fMRI brain scans involving more than 1,000 people making benevolent decisions and confirmed that the warmth of kindness was real, even if it did not help.
Many individual studies have suggested that generosity activates the reward network of the brain, but this new Sussex study is the first to bring these studies together, and then divide the results into two types of kindness: altruistic and strategic. Scientists in Sussex have discovered that reward areas of the brain are more active – that is, they consume more oxygen – when people act with strategic kindness, while others have the opportunity to return the favour.
Coherent neural correlates
They also found that acts of altruism, without any hope of personal benefit, also activate the reward areas of the brain and, more than that, that certain areas of the brain (in the subgenal anterior cingulate cortex) are more active during altruistic generosity. stating that there is something unique to be selfless without hope of gaining something in return.
"This major study raises questions about people with different motivations to give to others: clear personal interest compared to the warm glow of altruism. The decision to share resources is the cornerstone of any cooperative society. We know that people can choose to be nice because they like to feel like a "good person", but also that people can choose to be nice when they think that they are. There may be something "inside" as a returned favor or better reputation.
Some people might say that "why" we give little importance, as long as we do it. However, what motivates us to be nice is both fascinating and important. If, for example, governments can understand why people can give when there is nothing for them, then they can understand how to encourage people to volunteer, make donations to charities or support donations. 39, other people in their community »
Dr. Daniel Campbell-Meiklejohn, director of the study and director of the Social Decision Making Laboratory at the University of Sussex, said.
"The discovery of different motivations to give raises all kinds of questions, including what charities and organizations can learn about what motivates their donors. Some museums, for example, choose to run a membership system with real strategic benefits for their clients, such as discounts. Others will ask for a small altruistic gift on arrival. Organizations seeking contributions need to think about how they want their customers to feel. Do they want them to feel altruistic and that they feel a warm glow, or do they want to enter a transactional state of mind?
Given that we know that these two motivations overlap in the brain, charities should be careful not to offer something that looks like a symbolic gesture, as it could hurt a sense of altruism. Sending small gifts in exchange for a monthly donation could change the perception of donors of their altruistic or transactional motivation. In doing so, charities could also inadvertently replace the feeling of warmth with the feeling of having a bad deal. "
said Jo Cutler, Ph.D. student who co-wrote the study at the University of Sussex.
Jo Cutler and Dr. Campbell-Meiklejohn analyzed 36 existing studies involving 1150 participants whose brains were scanned by fMRI over a 10-year period.
Jo Cutler, Daniel Campbell-Meiklejohn
A comparative meta-analysis in fMRI of altruistic and strategic decisions to give
NeuroImage Volume 184, January 1, 2019, pages 227-241
Image: Gabriel González-Escamilla, Wellcome Images
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