This title appears in the Scientific Report :
2010
Please use the identifier:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470911003615997 in citations.
Who is to blame? Neural correlates of causal attribution in social situations
Who is to blame? Neural correlates of causal attribution in social situations
In everyday life causal attribution is important in order to structure the complex world, provide explanations for events and to understand why our environment interacts with us in a particular way. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 30 healthy subjects to separate the n...
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Personal Name(s): | Seidel, E.-M. |
---|---|
Eickhoff, S. B. / Kellermann, T. / Schneider, F. / Gur, R.C. / Habel, U. / Derntl, B. | |
Contributing Institute: |
Molekulare Organisation des Gehirns; INM-2 JARA-BRAIN; JARA-BRAIN |
Published in: | Social neuroscience, 5 (2010) S. 335 - 350 |
Imprint: |
New York [u.a.]
Psychology Press
2010
|
Physical Description: |
335 - 350 |
PubMed ID: |
20162490 |
DOI: |
10.1080/17470911003615997 |
Document Type: |
Journal Article |
Research Program: |
Connectivity and Activity Funktion und Dysfunktion des Nervensystems |
Series Title: |
Social Neuroscience
5 |
Subject (ZB): | |
Publikationsportal JuSER |
In everyday life causal attribution is important in order to structure the complex world, provide explanations for events and to understand why our environment interacts with us in a particular way. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 30 healthy subjects to separate the neural correlates of self vs. external responsibility for social events and explore the neural basis of self-serving attributions (internal attributions of positive events and external attributions of negative events). We presented short sentences describing positive and negative social events and asked participants to imagine the event, to decide the main cause and assign it to one of the categories (internal vs. external). FMRI data were analyzed using a 2 x 2 factorial design with the factors emotional valence and attribution. Internal compared to external attribution revealed activations along the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ). The reverse contrast showed a left lateralized network mainly involving the TPJ, the precuneus and the superior/medial frontal gyrus. These results confirmed the involvement of a fronto-temporoparietal network in differentiating self and external responsibility. Analysis of the self-serving bias yielded activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate and in the dorsal striatum, suggesting a rewarding value of these attributions. |