Neuroscientific approaches to study prosociality

Wyss, Annika M.; Knoch, Daria (2022). Neuroscientific approaches to study prosociality. Current opinion in psychology, 44, pp. 38-43. Elsevier 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.028

Preview

Text 1-s2.0-S2352250X21001615-main.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY). Download (274kB) | Preview

Prosociality is a core feature of human functioning and has been a topic of interest across disciplinary boundaries for decades. In this review, we highlight different neuroscientific approaches that have enriched traditional psychological methods for studying prosocial behavior among individuals and groups. First, we outline findings from task-based neuroimaging studies that provide correlational evidence for the involvement of different neural mechanisms in prosocial behavior. Next, we present different brain stimulation studies that show several brain areas to be causally related to prosocial behavior. Furthermore, we outline the task-independent neural trait approach that quantifies temporally stable brain-based characteristics in an effort to uncover sources of interindividual differences in prosocial preferences. We discuss how the findings from these approaches have contributed to our understanding of prosocial behavior and suggest directions for future research.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

125 since deposited on 16 Nov 2021
62 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item