Research Details

Abstract

Human beings have an unusual proclivity for altruistic behavior, and recent commentators have suggested that these prosocial tendencies arise from our unique capacity to understand the minds of others (i.e., to mentalize). The current studies test this hypothesis by examining the relation between altruistic behavior and the reflexive engagement of a neural system reliably associated with mentalizing. Results indicated that activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, a region consistently involved in understanding others' mental states. It predicts both monetary donations to others and time spent helping others. These findings address long-standing questions about the proximate source of human altruism by suggesting that prosocial behavior results, in part, from our broader tendency for social-cognitive thought.

Type

Article

Author(s)

Adam Waytz, J. Zaki, J. P. Mitchell

Date Published

2012

Citations

Waytz, Adam, J. Zaki, and J. P. Mitchell. 2012. Response of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex predicts altruistic behavior. Journal of Neuroscience.: 7646-7650.