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Nature Nov 2023Resource-seeking behaviours are ordinarily constrained by physiological needs and threats of danger, and the loss of these controls is associated with pathological...
Resource-seeking behaviours are ordinarily constrained by physiological needs and threats of danger, and the loss of these controls is associated with pathological reward seeking. Although dysfunction of the dopaminergic valuation system of the brain is known to contribute towards unconstrained reward seeking, the underlying reasons for this behaviour are unclear. Here we describe dopaminergic neural mechanisms that produce reward seeking despite adverse consequences in Drosophila melanogaster. Odours paired with optogenetic activation of a defined subset of reward-encoding dopaminergic neurons become cues that starved flies seek while neglecting food and enduring electric shock punishment. Unconstrained seeking of reward is not observed after learning with sugar or synthetic engagement of other dopaminergic neuron populations. Antagonism between reward-encoding and punishment-encoding dopaminergic neurons accounts for the perseverance of reward seeking despite punishment, whereas synthetic engagement of the reward-encoding dopaminergic neurons also impairs the ordinary need-dependent dopaminergic valuation of available food. Connectome analyses reveal that the population of reward-encoding dopaminergic neurons receives highly heterogeneous input, consistent with parallel representation of diverse rewards, and recordings demonstrate state-specific gating and satiety-related signals. We propose that a similar dopaminergic valuation system dysfunction is likely to contribute to maladaptive seeking of rewards by mammals.
Topics: Animals; Dopamine; Dopaminergic Neurons; Drosophila melanogaster; Electroshock; Learning; Odorants; Optogenetics; Punishment; Reward; Starvation; Models, Animal
PubMed: 37880370
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06671-8 -
Annual Review of Psychology Jan 2024Nearly five billion people around the world now use social media, and this number continues to grow. One of the primary goals of social media platforms is to capture and... (Review)
Review
Nearly five billion people around the world now use social media, and this number continues to grow. One of the primary goals of social media platforms is to capture and monetize human attention. One means by which individuals and groups can capture attention and drive engagement on these platforms is by sharing morally and emotionally evocative content. We review a growing body of research on the interrelationship of social media and morality as well its consequences for individuals and society. Moral content often goes viral on social media, and social media makes moral behavior (such as punishment) less costly. Thus, social media often acts as an accelerant for existing moral dynamics, amplifying outrage, status seeking, and intergroup conflict while also potentially amplifying more constructive facets of morality, such as social support, prosociality, and collective action. We discuss trends, heated debates, and future directions in this emerging literature.
Topics: Humans; Social Media; Morals; Punishment; Social Support
PubMed: 37906950
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-022123-110258 -
Behavioural Processes Apr 2024It is generally believed that termites can't learn and are not "intelligent". This study aimed to test whether termites could have any form of memory. A Y-shaped test...
It is generally believed that termites can't learn and are not "intelligent". This study aimed to test whether termites could have any form of memory. A Y-shaped test device with one release chamber and two identical test chambers was designed and constructed by 3D printing. A colony of damp wood termites was harvested from the wild. Worker termites were randomly selected for experiment. Repellent odors that could mimic the alarm pheromone for termites were first identified. Among all substances tested, a tea tree oil and lemon juice were found to contain repellent odors for the tested termites, as they significantly reduced the time that termites spent in the chamber treated with these substances. As control, a trail pheromone was found to be attractive. Subsequently, a second cohort of termites were operant conditioned by punishment using both tea tree oil and lemon juice, and then tested for their ability to remember the path that could lead to the repellant odors. The test device was thoroughly cleaned between trials. It was found that conditioned termites displayed a reduced tendency to choose the path that led to expectant punishment as compared with naïve termites. Thus, it is concluded that damp wood termites are capable of learning and forming "fear memory", indicative of "intelligence" in termites. This result challenges established presumption about termites' intelligence.
Topics: Isoptera; Animals; Odorants; Conditioning, Operant; Pheromones; Memory; Learning; Tea Tree Oil; Citrus; Insect Repellents; Behavior, Animal; Punishment
PubMed: 38493970
DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105012 -
Frontiers in Sociology 2023By relating conversation analysis (CA), in particular CA research on institutional interaction to such research traditions as sociological institutionalism, new... (Review)
Review
By relating conversation analysis (CA), in particular CA research on institutional interaction to such research traditions as sociological institutionalism, new materialism, and ritual theory, the article illustrates how CA scholarship can contribute to macrosociological theorizing. This argument is illustrated by how national parliaments are organized as institutions. The main point made in the article is that occasions of what CA calls institutional interaction should be considered as rituals. Although those occasions are scripted ceremonial performances wherein social pressure, material conditions, or avoidance of punishment make actors conform, they still play a role in constituting social order by making participants honor the rules and principles codified in an organization's frontstage events. The article also underlines that organizational arrangements do not determine what actors can say or do, but they impose limits and conditions on people's conduct. Finally, the paper suggests that it is through such arrangements of institutional interaction that social structure is created, maintained, and naturalized.
PubMed: 37881646
DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1146448 -
PNAS Nexus Jun 2024Although much of human morality evolved in an environment of small group living, almost 6 billion people use the internet in the modern era. We argue that the... (Review)
Review
Although much of human morality evolved in an environment of small group living, almost 6 billion people use the internet in the modern era. We argue that the technological transformation has created an entirely new ecosystem that is often mismatched with our evolved adaptations for social living. We discuss how evolved responses to moral transgressions, such as compassion for victims of transgressions and punishment of transgressors, are disrupted by two main features of the online context. First, the of the internet exposes us to an unnaturally large quantity of extreme moral content, causing compassion fatigue and increasing public shaming. Second, the physical and psychological between moral actors online can lead to ineffective collective action and virtue signaling. We discuss practical implications of these mismatches and suggest directions for future research on morality in the internet era.
PubMed: 38864008
DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae193 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024Eating disorders (EDs) are conceptualized as disorders of under- and over-control, with impulsivity reflecting under-control. Extant research indicates that impulsivity...
INTRODUCTION
Eating disorders (EDs) are conceptualized as disorders of under- and over-control, with impulsivity reflecting under-control. Extant research indicates that impulsivity and related factors such as reward sensitivity and punishment sensitivity may serve as trait-level transdiagnostic risk and/or maintenance factors in EDs. Findings on impulsivity and reward and punishment sensitivity by diagnosis are mixed and research on the relationship between these factors and ED symptoms, hospital course, and treatment outcomes is limited.
METHODS
Participants ( = 228) were patients admitted to a specialized inpatient behavioral treatment program for EDs who agreed to participate in a longitudinal study and completed self-report measures of impulsivity, reward sensitivity, and punishment sensitivity at admission. Weight and ED symptomatology were measured at admission and discharge. Hospital course variables included length of stay and premature treatment dropout.
RESULTS
Impulsivity was lower in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) restricting type compared to those with AN binge/purge type or bulimia nervosa; no other group differences were observed. Higher impulsivity was associated with greater bulimic symptoms on the Eating Disorder Inventory 2 (EDI-2) at admission. Impulsivity was not related to ED symptoms, weight outcomes, length of hospital stay, or treatment dropout at program discharge.
CONCLUSION
Impulsivity may help distinguish restrictive versus binge/purge EDs, but does not necessarily relate to discharge outcomes in an intensive inpatient ED program. Findings from this study provide novel contributions to the literature on personality traits in EDs and have important clinical implications. Results suggest that patients with higher levels of impulsivity or reward and punishment sensitivity can be expected to respond to inpatient treatment. Suggestions for future research are discussed.
PubMed: 38832324
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1325252 -
Scientific Reports Aug 2023Reward for altruism and punishment for selfishness are crucial components for the maintenance of society. Past studies have provided strong evidence that people are...
Reward for altruism and punishment for selfishness are crucial components for the maintenance of society. Past studies have provided strong evidence that people are willing to incur costs to punish selfish behaviors and to reward altruistic behaviors, but how their willingness to do so depends on their relationship with the individuals conducting the anti-social or pro-social behaviors is much less explored. To probe into this question, we devised a three-stage experiment that combined a revised dictator game and third-party reward or punishment. We employed two payoff frameworks, alignment and conflict, and analyzed how third-party's willingness to reward and punish differed when their interests were either aligned or in conflict with the first-party under observation. We found that due to considerations for personal interests, third-party's reward and punishment levels deviated from what was deemed "legitimate" by society, that is, the level of reward and punishment that enhances society's intrinsic motivations to comply with social norms and act pro-socially. When an anti-social behavior was observed, third-party punished less severely under the alignment framework than under the conflict framework; when a pro-social behavior was observed, third-party demonstrated self-serving reward under the alignment framework, but they rewarded altruistically under the conflict framework. These findings provided evidence for third-party's self-serving reward and punishment.
Topics: Humans; Punishment; Laboratories; Altruism; Social Behavior; Reward
PubMed: 37634044
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41256-5