Motivations to reciprocate cooperation and punish defection are calibrated by estimates of how easily others can switch partners

Evolutionary models of dyadic cooperation demonstrate that selection favors different strategies for reciprocity depending on opportunities to choose alternative partners. We propose that selection has favored mechanisms that estimate the extent to which others can switch partners and calibrate motivations to reciprocate and punish accordingly. These estimates should reflect default assumptions about relational mobility: the probability that individuals in one’s social world will have the opportunity to form relationships with new partners. This prior probability can be updated by cues present in the immediate situation one is facing. The resulting estimate of a partner’s outside options should serve as input to motivational systems regulating reciprocity: Higher estimates should down-regulate the use of sanctions to prevent defection by a current partner, and up-regulate efforts to attract better cooperative partners by curating one’s own reputation and monitoring that of others. We tested this hypothesis using a Trust Game with Punishment (TGP), which provides continuous measures of reciprocity, defection, and punishment in response to defection. We measured each participant’s perception of relational mobility in their real-world social ecology and experimentally varied a cue to partner switching. Moreover, the study was conducted in the US (n = 519) and Japan (n = 520): societies that are high versus low in relational mobility. Across conditions and societies, higher perceptions of relational mobility were associated with increased reciprocity and decreased punishment: i.e., those who thought that others have many opportunities to find new partners reciprocated more and punished less. The situational cue to partner switching was detected, but relational mobility in one’s real social world regulated motivations to reciprocate and punish, even in the experimental setting. The current research provides evidence that motivational systems are designed to estimate varying degrees of partner choice in one’s social ecology and regulate reciprocal behaviors accordingly.

Effects of system- and media-driven immersive capabilities on presence and affective experience

Virtual reality (VR) is receiving widespread attention as a delivery tool for exposure therapies. The advantage offered by VR over traditional technology is a greater sense of presence and immersion, which magnifies user effects and enhances the effectiveness of exposure-based interventions. The current study systematically examined the basic factors involved in generating presence in VR as compared to standard technology, namely (1) system-driven factors that are exclusive to VR devices while controlling general factors such as field of view and image quality; (2) media-driven factors of the virtual environment eliciting motivational salience through different levels of arousal and valence (relaxing, exciting and fear evoking stimuli); and (3) the effects of presence on magnifying affective response. Participants (N = 14) watched 3 different emotionally salient videos (1 × fear evoking, 1 × relaxing and 1 × exciting) in both viewing modes (VR and Projector). Subjective scores of user experience were collected as well as objective EEG markers of presence (frontal alpha power, theta/beta ratio). Subjective and objective presence was significantly greater in the VR condition. There was no difference in subjective or objective presence for stimulus type, suggesting presence is not moderated by arousal, but may be reliant on activation of motivational systems. Finally, presence did not magnify feelings of relaxation or excitement, but did significantly magnify users’ experience of fear when viewing fear evoking stimuli. This is in line with previous literature showing strong links between presence and generation of fear, which is vital in the efficacy of exposure therapies.

Social Inclusion and Exclusion: How Evolution Changes our Relational and Social Brain

Belonging to social groups is an important need for human beings and social exclusion has a significant psychological impact on individual wellbeing. Social neuroscience has clarified the similarity of the neuronal substrate between physical pain and social pain during the experience of social exclusion. Pain is the oldest signal that something is wrong for our brain, and the anticipation of pain motivates a move away from perceived dangerous or noxious stimuli. The Evolutionary Theory of Motivation (ETM) considered group affiliation as an adaptive goal that supports the individual\'s adaptation to the environment; however, invalidating experiences may induce avoidance of its pursuit. In this perspective, social exclusion could thus be considered as the result of failures at one or more levels of the human motivational systems. This chapter attempts to understand the neuroscience findings on social exclusion in this theoretical framework.

Communication between the mediodorsal thalamus and prelimbic cortex regulates timing performance in rats

Predicting when future events will occur and adjusting behavior accordingly is critical to adaptive behavior. Despite this, little is known about the brain networks that encode time and how this ultimately impacts decision-making. One established finding is that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its non-human analogues (e.g., the rodent prelimbic cortex; PL) mediate timing. This provides a starting point for exploring the networks that support temporal processing by identifying areas that interact with the PFC during timing tasks. For example, substantial work has explored the role of frontostriatal circuits in timing. However, other areas are undoubtedly involved. The mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus (MD) is an excellent candidate region. It shares dense, reciprocal connections with PFC-areas in both humans and non-human species and is implicated in cognition. However, causal data implicating MD-PFC interactions in cognition broadly is still sparse, and their role in timing specifically is currently unknown. To address this, we trained male rats on a time-based, decision-making task referred to as the 'peak-interval' procedure. During the task, presentation of a cue instructed the rats to respond after a specific interval of time elapsed (e.g., tone-8 seconds). We incorporated two cues; each requiring a response after a distinct time-interval (e.g., tone-8 seconds / light-16 seconds). We tested the effects of either reversibly inactivating the MD or PL individually or functionally disconnecting them on performance. All manipulations caused a comparable timing deficit. Specifically, responses showed little organization in time, as if primarily guided by motivational systems. These data expand our understanding of the networks that support timing and suggest that MD-PL interactions specifically are a core component. More broadly, our results suggest that timing tasks provide a reliable assay for characterizing the role of MD-PL interactions in cognition using rodents, which has been difficult to establish in the past.

The influence of regulatory focus and self-discrepancy on cognition in younger and older adults

There exists substantial literature describing how the two motivational systems of promotion and prevention (Regulatory Focus Theory; Higgins, 1997) influence behaviour. However, the specific cognitive correlates of regulatory focus remain unclear. Furthermore, how regulatory focus may influence the course of cognitive aging is unknown. Experiment 1 compared healthy older and younger adults on Higgins' measure of self-discrepancy and explored relationships with cognition. Experiment 2 compared younger adults induced into either a promotion or prevention focus relative to a no-induction control condition on measures of cognition. The results from Experiment 1 revealed that while the magnitude of self-discrepancy remains constant across the lifespan, the evaluation and content of self goals changes with age. The results from Experiment 2 suggest that the effects of the regulatory focus induction are limited but specific to particular aspects of memory and perception. Overall, these findings may contribute to our understanding of aging and motivated cognition.