Abstract

Competitive decision making may require controlling and calculative mind-sets. We examined this possibility in repeated predator–prey contests by up- or down-regulating the individual’s right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), a brain region involved in impulse inhibition and mentalizing. Following brain stimulation, subjects invested as predator or prey against a non-treated antagonist. Relative to sham-treatment (i) prey-defense was relatively frequent, strong and unaffected by stimulation, (ii) down-regulating predator rIFG produced a high-firing strategy—predators earned more because they attacked more frequently, while (iii) up-regulating predator rIFG produced a track-and-attack strategy—predators earned more because they attacked especially when their (non-stimulated) antagonist lowered its prey-defense. Results suggest that calculative mindsets are not needed to compete effectively, especially not when the goal is to survive. Enhanced prefrontal control enables individuals to appear less aggressive without sacrificing competitive effectiveness—it provides human predators with an iron fist in a velvet glove.

Details

Title
Modulating prefrontal control in humans reveals distinct pathways to competitive success and collective waste
Author
Carsten KW De Dreu 1 ; Kret, Mariska E 2 ; Sligte, Ilja G 3 

 Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, PO Box 9555, 2300RB Leiden, The Netherlands; Center for Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making (CREED), University of Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 11, 1018WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
 Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, PO Box 9555, 2300RB Leiden, The Netherlands 
 Department of Psychology, Brain and Cognition, Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam 
Pages
1236-1244
Publication year
2016
Publication date
Aug 2016
Publisher
Oxford University Press
ISSN
17495016
e-ISSN
17495024
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3171528314
Copyright
© The Author(s) (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.