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bioRxiv · 10.1101/590208

Contribution of self- and other-regarding motives to (dis)honesty

Shuster, A.·Levy, D. J.
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Abstract

Why would people tell the truth when there is an obvious gain in lying and no risk of being caught? Previous work suggests the involvement of two motives, self-interest and regard for others. However, it remains unknown if these motives are related or independently contribute to (dis)honesty, and what are the neural instantiations of these motives. Using a modified Message Game task, in which a Sender sends a dishonest (yet profitable) or honest (less profitable) message to a Receiver, we found that these two motives contributed to dishonesty independently. Furthermore, the two motives involve distinct brain networks: the LPFC tracked potential value to self, whereas the rTPJ tracked potential losses to other, and individual differences in motives modulated these neural responses. Finally, activity in the vmPFC represented a balance of the two motives unique to each participant. Taken together, our results suggest that (dis)honest decisions incorporate at least two separate cognitive and neural processes - valuation of potential profits to self and valuation of potential harm to others.

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Shuster, A., Levy, D. J.. 2019-03-28. Contribution of self- and other-regarding motives to (dis)honesty. https://doi.org/10.1101/590208

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