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Dictator's Game and Prisoner's Dilemma in an EEG Study

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Dictator's Game and Prisoner's Dilemma in an EEG Study PSYCHOLOGY Psychology & Neuroscience, 2009, 2, 2, 205 - 210 NEUROSCIENCE DOI: 10.3922/j.psns.2009.2.013 Dictator’s Game and Prisoner’s Dilemma in an EEG study on money donation Franklin Back1, Giovani Carra2, Marilda Spindola Chiaramonte2 and Alcyr Oliveira1 1 Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Brazil 2 Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Brazil Abstract Knowledge is currently scarce about what happens in the brain when a decision is made to make a donation. This intriguing donation behavior is often assumed to relate to social relationships. The present study used simulated situations in which participants had to decide how to manage money when possibilities for donation were available. Electroencephalographic signals were recorded while participants were exposed to two cognitive situations, the Dictator’s Game and the Prisoner’s Dilemma, to simulate money exchange between people. Brain activity was measured to determine whether correlations could be made with decisions to donate. Sixty volunteers were assessed, and stimuli were presented randomly. After the presentation of the cognitive tests, the participants were allocated to two groups for the respective cognitive situations. The data showed significant differences in the left prefrontal cortex between questions with a donation context and questions not related to donations. Participants who heard a question related to donation had higher activation in the left prefrontal cortex. These results are consistent with recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, suggesting that greater activation in the prefrontal cortex could be produced by the logical evaluation of dilemmas. These results suggest that logical evaluation occurs when faced with a reasonable donation situation. Keywords: altruism, donation, EEG, decision-making. Received 2 October 2009; received in revised form 6 December 2009; accepted 14 December 2009. Available on line 29 December 2009. Introduction Considering the various forms and reasons to give, studying the phenomenon of donation is crucial Psychology and cognitive science hardly present to understand each manifestation of this behavior. The justifiable reasons for donation behavior. People voluntarily present study was designed to understand what occurs choose to give their time, money, or even bodily organs in the human brain when a decision to donate money without the smallest hint of later reciprocation. Highly is made. The definition of altruistic-related behavior is related to empathy (de Waal, 2008), altruism has been the not intuitive. Several fields of study, from psychology to focus in recent years of studies in different research areas, neuroeconomics, have developed research on this topic. such as psychology, ethology, evolutionary biology, and This situation has generated a plurality of descriptions, neuroeconomics. Some findings have led researchers to making the subject somewhat ambiguous. Additionally, uncover a series of factors able to influence altruism (Barclay many factors are able to modulate responses in donation & Willer, 2007; Dawes, Fowler, Johnson, McElreath, & situations, such as reputation construction, possible Smirnov, 2007; Fehr & Fischbacher, 2003; Jeon & Buss, future benefits (Barclay & Willer, 2007), worries about 2007). Altruism is also hypothesized to underlie several what other people may think about those actions (Fehr social behaviors, such as care and money-giving, daily social & Fischbacher, 2004), kinship with the receiver (Jeon interactions, charity, and organ donation (Landry, 2006). & Buss, 2007), and even punishment for being unfair (Brandt, Hauert, & Sigmund, 2003). Franklin Back and Alcyr Oliveira, Departamento de From an empirical point of view, whenever a Psicologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de donation act is favorable, the human body reacts. Porto Alegre, Brazil. Giovani Carra and Marilda Spindola Emotional aspects involved in a binomial decision- Chiaramonte, Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, making situation to “donate or not donate” and the Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Brazil. Correspondence cognitive effort expended to analyze the consequences regarding this article should be directed to: Alcyr Oliveira, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, might serve as triggers for neural responses. The Departamento de Psicologia, Rua Sarmento Leite, 245 - Porto development of methods to detect the pattern of donation- Alegre - Brazil, CEP 90.050-170. Phone: +55-51-3303-8826; related responses is important for understanding how Fax: +55-51-3303-8810. E-mail: [email protected] this social interaction behavior works and how it is 206 Back et al established in humans. Some studies provide evidence Method that decision-making in economic interactions, such as the stock market, does not exactly follow cost/benefit Participants relationships (Lo & Repin, 2002). Abandonment of The study was approved by the Ethical Committee cost/benefit relationships in a competitive field such as from the Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde the stock market suggests that the market economy is and the Ethical Committee from the Universidade guided not only by the quest for maximum profit, but de Caxias do Sul. Undergraduate students from both also by emotion. Thus, when playing the Ultimatum universities participated in the study and gave written Game and Dictator’s Game, men who inhaled a informed consent prior to inclusion in the experiments. solution of oxytocin donated a greater amount of money During the recruitment process, words such as “help,” compared with those who received placebo (Zak, “donation,” and “altruism” were avoided. Moreover, no Stanton, & Ahmadi, 2007), suggesting that donation- deception occurred in any part of the experiment. The related behavior is linked to a bounding effect. Although allocation of participants to groups and the order of task the authors noted the differences between altruism and presentation were random. Twenty-seven participants generosity, they demonstrated correlational evidence were analyzed from an initial 60 invited volunteers. All for emotion and donation considering oxytocin as a of the participants completed a self-report questionnaire “bounding-neurohormone” that could make donators to gather health and socioeconomic information and feel socially connected to the donation recipients. were submitted to testing. To include the participant’s The present study considered the donation of money data in the analysis, the participant must have been in an isolated situation. Important are the different regularly enrolled in a university. Participants that met aspects of donation behavior. For example, money one or more of the following conditions were excluded donation does not have the same context and parameters from the analysis: smoking, alcohol use within the as organ donation. Therefore, distinctive references past 2 days, the use of medicines or other drugs, a should be analyzed for each kind of choice, and distinct convulsive experience or epileptic episode at any time tools should be used for each situation. in life, sleeping problems, somnolence at the moment Two decision tasks from experimental economics of the experiment, auditory deficiency, and family or and cognitive situations were used in the present study: participant history of mental illness of any kind. After the Dictator’s Game (Zak et al., 2007) and the Prisoner’s completing the forms, the entire process and procedure Dilemma (Roberts & Renwick, 2003). These are tasks were explained, and subjects went through orientation that have generally been used in studies of altruism about the setting conditions and data collection (e.g., and social interaction and provide a situation in which remain motionless, seated, eyes closed, and relaxed). participants must cognitively interact through money as a way to maximize profits. Apparatus The physiologic response monitored during the tasks We used a 22-channel EEG recorder developed by consisted of electric potentials on the surface of the scalp the Laboratory of Electrical Engineering, Universidade de measured using electroencephalography (EEG). Beyond Caxias do Sul (Carra, Spindola, Chiaramonte, Balbinot). utility in clinical diagnosis, EEG has been used in The study used only eight target channels. A belt was cognitive research, mainly during the past decade, because positioned around the chest of the volunteer to fix the two it involves more direct recording of electric activity in a straps of the cap, which had a 10-20 electrode positioning short timeframe, making the measurement of virtually pattern (American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, instantaneous neural activity possible (Laufs, Daunizeau, 2006). Two electrodes were positioned on the ear lobes Carmichael, & Kleinschmidt, 2008; Olejniczak, 2006; so they could be used as neutral reference electrodes. An Shibasaki, 2008). In fact, considering the timing of data additional sensor was placed on the left arm, in contact acquisition and the expression of function, EEG has some with the skin, as a reference for skin potential. Once the advantages and disadvantages over other techniques for sensors were placed, a conductive gel was applied inside brain activity assessment. The limitations of EEG include each electrode, with the exception of the arm electrode. The the impossibility of clearly defining specific groups of scalp electrodes were positioned at the following points: triggering cells or constructing a structural functional
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