Social Comparison Affects Reward-Related Brain Activity in the Human Ventral Striatum
Journal
Science
ISSN
0036-8075
ISSN-Digital
1095-9203
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2007-11-23
Author(s)
Fliessbach, Klaus
;
Weber, Bernd
;
Trautner, Peter
;
Dohmen, Thomas
;
Sunde, Uwe
;
Elger, C.E.
;
Falk, A.
Abstract
Whether social comparison affects individual well-being is of central importance for understanding behavior in any social environment. Traditional economic theories focus on the role of absolute rewards, whereas behavioral evidence suggests that social comparisons influence well-being and decisions. We investigated the impact of social comparisons on reward-related brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). While being scanned in two adjacent MRI scanners, pairs of subjects had to simultaneously perform a simple estimation task that entailed monetary rewards for correct answers. We show that a variation in the comparison subject's payment affects blood oxygenation level-dependent responses in the ventral striatum. Our results provide neurophysiological evidence for the importance of social comparison on reward processing in the human brain
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publisher place
Washington, DC
Volume
318
Number
5854
Start page
1305
End page
1308
Pages
4
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
43909