title: Neural evidence of motivational conflict between social values.
abstract: Motivational interdependence is an organizing principle in Schwartz's circumplex model of social values, which has received abundant cross-cultural support. We used fMRI to test whether motivational relations between social values predict different brain responses in a situation of choice between values. We hypothesized that differences in brain responses would become evident when the more important value had to be selected in pairs of congruent (e.g., wealth and success) as opposed to incongruent (e.g., curiosity and stability) values as they are described in Schwartz's model, because the former serve mutually facilitating motives, whereas the latter serve mutually inhibiting motives. Consistent with the model, choosing between congruent values led to longer response times and more activation in conflict-related brain regions (e.g., the supplementary motor area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) than selecting between incongruent values. These results provide novel neural evidence supporting the circumplex model's predictions about motivational interdependence between social values. In particular, our results show that the neural networks underlying social values are organized in a way that allows activation patterns related to motivational similarity between congruent values to be dissociated from those related to incongruent values.
authors.affiliation: a School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , UK.|b Department of Animal and Human Physiology , University of Gdańsk , Gdańsk , Poland.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leszkowicz
authors.affiliation: a School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , UK.
authors.forename: David E J
authors.initials: DEJ
authors.lastname: Linden
authors.affiliation: a School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , UK.
authors.forename: Gregory R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Maio
authors.affiliation: a School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , UK.|c Department of Psychology , Durham University , Stockton-on-Tees , UK.
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ihssen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008959:Models, Neurological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D012945:Social Values; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Human values; Schwartz’s value model; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; fMRI; supplementary motor area