Journal Article

FZJ-2017-07638

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Social comparison in the brain: A coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional brain imaging studies on the downward and upward comparisons

Luo, Y. ; Eickhoff, S.FZJ* ; Hétu, S. ; Feng, C. (Corresponding author)

2017
Wiley-Liss New York, NY

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/18244  doi:10.1002/hbm.23854

Abstract: Social comparison is ubiquitous across human societies with dramatic influence on people's well-being and decision making. Downward comparison (comparing to worse-off others) and upward comparison (comparing to better-off others) constitute two types of social comparisons that produce different neuropsychological consequences. Based on studies exploring neural signatures associated with downward and upward comparisons, the current study utilized a coordinate-based meta-analysis to provide a refinement of understanding about the underlying neural architecture of social comparison. We identified consistent involvement of the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in downward comparison and consistent involvement of the anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex in upward comparison. These findings fit well with the "common-currency" hypothesis that neural representations of social gain or loss resemble those for non-social reward or loss processing. Accordingly, we discussed our findings in the framework of general reinforcement learning (RL) hypothesis, arguing how social gain/loss induced by social comparisons could be encoded by the brain as a domain-general signal (i.e., prediction errors) serving to adjust people's decisions in social settings. Although the RL account may serve as a heuristic framework for the future research, other plausible accounts on the neuropsychological mechanism of social comparison were also acknowledged

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Gehirn & Verhalten (INM-7)

Research Program(s):

1. 571 - Connectivity and Activity (POF3-571) (POF3-571)

Appears in the scientific report 2018

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Database coverage:
; ; BIOSIS Previews ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; IF < 5 ; JCR ; NCBI Molecular Biology Database ; Nationallizenz ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Thomson Reuters Master Journal List ; Web of Science Core Collection

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