Social Psychology of Decision Making
Contents
Tutorial 2. Social Processes & Decision-Making ................................................................................. 2
General Literature ........................................................................................................................... 2
Presentations .................................................................................................................................. 6
Lecture ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Tutorial 3. Cooperation and Coordination ........................................................................................ 11
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 11
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 13
Tutorial 4. Fairness and Justice ......................................................................................................... 16
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 16
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 17
Tutorial 5. Groups ............................................................................................................................. 20
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 20
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 23
Lecture .......................................................................................................................................... 27
Tutorial 6. Morality ........................................................................................................................... 32
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 32
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 40
Tutorial 7. Social Comparison ........................................................................................................... 43
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 43
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 48
Tutorial 8. Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination..................................................................... 51
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 51
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 59
Tutorial 9. Context and Culture ........................................................................................................ 64
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 64
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 66
Margot Janus, 2021 1
,Social Psychology of Decision Making
Tutorial 2. Social Processes & Decision-Making
General Literature
Ruff, C. C., & Fehr, E. (2014). The neurobiology of rewards and values in social decision making. Nature
Reviews Neuroscience, 15(8), 549-562.
Almost all decisions have a social component included.
Different parts of your brain have an effect on decision making/emotions:
• Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and temporoparietal junction (TPJ): involved in
representing the intensions, emotions or actions of other people.
Social-specific cognition implies that the control of social and non-social behavior should
fundamentally differ in terms of neural architecture and information processing demands.
In this article they propose a framework for studying the possible neurobiological links in the
motivational control of social and non-social decision making. There are two schemas of the value
signals that drive both types of decisions:
• Extended common currency schema = assumes that identical neural processes assign
motivational relevance to social and non-social factors.
• Social-valuation-specific schema = proposes that social rewards and values are processed in
a dedicated neural circuitry that evolved specifically to deal with interactions with others.
Three different types of neural value representation that are associated with activity changes in
different neural structures:
• Experienced-value signals: the receipt and consumption of rewards are associated with
neural activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC).
other structures that are activated during reward experiences are the amygdala, the anterior
insula and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
The anterior insula and ACC are also activated in punishing events such as pain.
• Anticipated-value signals: signals associated with the anticipation of rewards or value
learning have been identified in dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA)
and substantia nigra (SN).
Reward-prediction error = the difference between the experienced value and the
anticipated value of rewards.
Margot Janus, 2021 2
,Social Psychology of Decision Making
• Decision-value signals: these signals are thought to integrate all anticipated values and costs
associated with the different options into a signal quantity that is interpreted to make the
choice. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is activated. vmPFC activity has bene
proposed to reflect valuation during decision making rather than valuation during the
subsequent reward administration and associated reward prediction.
Three classes of situations in which the brain engages in valuation of a specifically social nature:
1. Situations in which an agent assesses how specific other individuals and their behavior affect
his or her own well-being.
a. Experiencing rewards or punishments from specific others
Merely seeing others who are attractive, in a positive mood or in erotic poses
already constitutes an experienced value that is encoded by similar activity in the
brain reward system as for typical non-social values.
Neural experienced values during social interactions can encode both immediate
hedonic aspects and longer-lasting social consequences of basic social gestures (e.g.,
changes in reputation or status).
Several aspects of direct social interactions (e.g., perceiving others, receiving
interest or approval and being excluded or rejected) have been linked to neural
activity in brain structures that are also involved in encoding non-social rewards.
➔ proof for extended common currency schema.
b. Decisions involving specific other individuals.
The degree of change in ventral striatum activity during social observation
correlated with changes in overt behavior, suggesting that the mere anticipation of
peer feedback may introduce a neural ‘anticipated value’ that changes decision-
value computations and, therefore, choice.
The BOLD activity increase in the ventral striatum can reflect valuation of anticipated
hedonic feelings or social consequences (e.g., gains in reputation or social status).
➔ proof for extended common currency schema.
c. Learning about others.
Information about the other person strongly shapes behavior in interactive contexts.
➔ proof for social-valuation-specific schema.
2. Agent’s brain values choice options and outcomes vicariously for others.
a. Vicarious experience of rewards and punishment
Studies have shown that merely observing others receiving rewards and
punishments can trigger neural experienced value representations similar to those
elicited by a personal experience of these stimuli → watching others win monetary
rewards was associated with BOLD activity increases in the ventral striatum that
overlapped with activations elicited when participants won these rewards
themselves.
➔ proof for common currency schema.
b. Vicarious decision making
Decisions are rarely made in social isolation, and individuals often benefit from
information about how others decided in similar situations. Integration of vicarious
and personal reward experience may occur at the level of value-related neural
processing in the ventral striatum.
➔ proof for common currency schema.
c. Vicarious learning
Observing others may help humans to learn the value of stimuli and actions for
future behavior. Studies suggest that both experience-based and vicarious learning
Margot Janus, 2021 3
, Social Psychology of Decision Making
of anticipated values have the same neural substrate.
➔ common currency schema.
However, other studies suggest that vicarious social learning also draws on distinct
prediction-error computations in different neural structures → vicarious reward
prediction errors in the vmPFC and action-predicted errors in the dlPFC or the
dmPFC.
➔ proof for social-valuation-specific schema.
3. An agent guides his or her behavior to comply with normative social principles.
Humans base their decisions not only on their self-interest but also take account of
normative social principles that are often at odds with maximizing personal payout.
a. Social principles affect reward experience.
Neural activity in the brain’s valuation circuitry in response to financial rewards can
directly incorporate information about the outcomes of others.
➔ proof for extended common currency schema.
b. Social principles influence decisions.
Puzzling behavior may relate to influences on neural decision-value computations →
humans frequently sacrifice some of their own resources to punish violators of social
norms. This is associated with feelings of satisfaction and with neural activity in the
ventral striatum and the OFC.
➔ proof for extended common currency schema.
c. Value learning in line with social principle.
Social conformity = the general tendency to align behavior and attitudes with those
of others.
Conformity-related changes in behavior are brought about by similar prediction-
error learning signals to those involved in non-social forms of learning.
➔ unclear proof for extended common currency schema and social-valuation-
specific schema.
Social behavior is controlled by reward- and motivation-related neural processes in the ventral
striatum, vmPFC, amygdala and insula, which strongly resemble the neural value signals that were
originally identified in the context of non-social decision making.
BOLD activity in the ventral striatum, vmPFC, amygdala and/or insula encodes a ‘common neural
currency’ that assigns motivational properties to all stimuli and situations, irrespective of whether
they relate to specific others, to abstract social principles or to material objects. But there are
probably differences between social and non-social neural valuation (e.g., it’s unclear whether the
BOLD changes in overlapping areas involving the same neurons).
Cialdini, R. B. (2005). Basic social influence is underestimated. Psychological Inquiry, 16(4), 158-161.
Social influence: observed social behavior has an influence on the subsequent social behavior of
people.
This article consists of the root wisdom, and is followed up by 3 branch wisdoms:
Root wisdom: As a rule, people grossly underestimate the guiding role that others play in personal
choices.
Observed social behavior has a strong influence on subsequent social behavior. People don’t notice
this influence on three different decision points: (1) observers; (2) tacticians; (3) experts. By these
three points follow the branch wisdoms:
1. Branch wisdom no. 1: People frequently ignore or severely underestimate the extent to which
their actions in a situation are determined by the similar actions of others there.
Example of street musician. This illustrates that people are poor at recognizing why they
Margot Janus, 2021 4
Contents
Tutorial 2. Social Processes & Decision-Making ................................................................................. 2
General Literature ........................................................................................................................... 2
Presentations .................................................................................................................................. 6
Lecture ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Tutorial 3. Cooperation and Coordination ........................................................................................ 11
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 11
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 13
Tutorial 4. Fairness and Justice ......................................................................................................... 16
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 16
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 17
Tutorial 5. Groups ............................................................................................................................. 20
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 20
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 23
Lecture .......................................................................................................................................... 27
Tutorial 6. Morality ........................................................................................................................... 32
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 32
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 40
Tutorial 7. Social Comparison ........................................................................................................... 43
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 43
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 48
Tutorial 8. Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination..................................................................... 51
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 51
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 59
Tutorial 9. Context and Culture ........................................................................................................ 64
General Literature ......................................................................................................................... 64
Presentations ................................................................................................................................ 66
Margot Janus, 2021 1
,Social Psychology of Decision Making
Tutorial 2. Social Processes & Decision-Making
General Literature
Ruff, C. C., & Fehr, E. (2014). The neurobiology of rewards and values in social decision making. Nature
Reviews Neuroscience, 15(8), 549-562.
Almost all decisions have a social component included.
Different parts of your brain have an effect on decision making/emotions:
• Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and temporoparietal junction (TPJ): involved in
representing the intensions, emotions or actions of other people.
Social-specific cognition implies that the control of social and non-social behavior should
fundamentally differ in terms of neural architecture and information processing demands.
In this article they propose a framework for studying the possible neurobiological links in the
motivational control of social and non-social decision making. There are two schemas of the value
signals that drive both types of decisions:
• Extended common currency schema = assumes that identical neural processes assign
motivational relevance to social and non-social factors.
• Social-valuation-specific schema = proposes that social rewards and values are processed in
a dedicated neural circuitry that evolved specifically to deal with interactions with others.
Three different types of neural value representation that are associated with activity changes in
different neural structures:
• Experienced-value signals: the receipt and consumption of rewards are associated with
neural activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC).
other structures that are activated during reward experiences are the amygdala, the anterior
insula and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
The anterior insula and ACC are also activated in punishing events such as pain.
• Anticipated-value signals: signals associated with the anticipation of rewards or value
learning have been identified in dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA)
and substantia nigra (SN).
Reward-prediction error = the difference between the experienced value and the
anticipated value of rewards.
Margot Janus, 2021 2
,Social Psychology of Decision Making
• Decision-value signals: these signals are thought to integrate all anticipated values and costs
associated with the different options into a signal quantity that is interpreted to make the
choice. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is activated. vmPFC activity has bene
proposed to reflect valuation during decision making rather than valuation during the
subsequent reward administration and associated reward prediction.
Three classes of situations in which the brain engages in valuation of a specifically social nature:
1. Situations in which an agent assesses how specific other individuals and their behavior affect
his or her own well-being.
a. Experiencing rewards or punishments from specific others
Merely seeing others who are attractive, in a positive mood or in erotic poses
already constitutes an experienced value that is encoded by similar activity in the
brain reward system as for typical non-social values.
Neural experienced values during social interactions can encode both immediate
hedonic aspects and longer-lasting social consequences of basic social gestures (e.g.,
changes in reputation or status).
Several aspects of direct social interactions (e.g., perceiving others, receiving
interest or approval and being excluded or rejected) have been linked to neural
activity in brain structures that are also involved in encoding non-social rewards.
➔ proof for extended common currency schema.
b. Decisions involving specific other individuals.
The degree of change in ventral striatum activity during social observation
correlated with changes in overt behavior, suggesting that the mere anticipation of
peer feedback may introduce a neural ‘anticipated value’ that changes decision-
value computations and, therefore, choice.
The BOLD activity increase in the ventral striatum can reflect valuation of anticipated
hedonic feelings or social consequences (e.g., gains in reputation or social status).
➔ proof for extended common currency schema.
c. Learning about others.
Information about the other person strongly shapes behavior in interactive contexts.
➔ proof for social-valuation-specific schema.
2. Agent’s brain values choice options and outcomes vicariously for others.
a. Vicarious experience of rewards and punishment
Studies have shown that merely observing others receiving rewards and
punishments can trigger neural experienced value representations similar to those
elicited by a personal experience of these stimuli → watching others win monetary
rewards was associated with BOLD activity increases in the ventral striatum that
overlapped with activations elicited when participants won these rewards
themselves.
➔ proof for common currency schema.
b. Vicarious decision making
Decisions are rarely made in social isolation, and individuals often benefit from
information about how others decided in similar situations. Integration of vicarious
and personal reward experience may occur at the level of value-related neural
processing in the ventral striatum.
➔ proof for common currency schema.
c. Vicarious learning
Observing others may help humans to learn the value of stimuli and actions for
future behavior. Studies suggest that both experience-based and vicarious learning
Margot Janus, 2021 3
, Social Psychology of Decision Making
of anticipated values have the same neural substrate.
➔ common currency schema.
However, other studies suggest that vicarious social learning also draws on distinct
prediction-error computations in different neural structures → vicarious reward
prediction errors in the vmPFC and action-predicted errors in the dlPFC or the
dmPFC.
➔ proof for social-valuation-specific schema.
3. An agent guides his or her behavior to comply with normative social principles.
Humans base their decisions not only on their self-interest but also take account of
normative social principles that are often at odds with maximizing personal payout.
a. Social principles affect reward experience.
Neural activity in the brain’s valuation circuitry in response to financial rewards can
directly incorporate information about the outcomes of others.
➔ proof for extended common currency schema.
b. Social principles influence decisions.
Puzzling behavior may relate to influences on neural decision-value computations →
humans frequently sacrifice some of their own resources to punish violators of social
norms. This is associated with feelings of satisfaction and with neural activity in the
ventral striatum and the OFC.
➔ proof for extended common currency schema.
c. Value learning in line with social principle.
Social conformity = the general tendency to align behavior and attitudes with those
of others.
Conformity-related changes in behavior are brought about by similar prediction-
error learning signals to those involved in non-social forms of learning.
➔ unclear proof for extended common currency schema and social-valuation-
specific schema.
Social behavior is controlled by reward- and motivation-related neural processes in the ventral
striatum, vmPFC, amygdala and insula, which strongly resemble the neural value signals that were
originally identified in the context of non-social decision making.
BOLD activity in the ventral striatum, vmPFC, amygdala and/or insula encodes a ‘common neural
currency’ that assigns motivational properties to all stimuli and situations, irrespective of whether
they relate to specific others, to abstract social principles or to material objects. But there are
probably differences between social and non-social neural valuation (e.g., it’s unclear whether the
BOLD changes in overlapping areas involving the same neurons).
Cialdini, R. B. (2005). Basic social influence is underestimated. Psychological Inquiry, 16(4), 158-161.
Social influence: observed social behavior has an influence on the subsequent social behavior of
people.
This article consists of the root wisdom, and is followed up by 3 branch wisdoms:
Root wisdom: As a rule, people grossly underestimate the guiding role that others play in personal
choices.
Observed social behavior has a strong influence on subsequent social behavior. People don’t notice
this influence on three different decision points: (1) observers; (2) tacticians; (3) experts. By these
three points follow the branch wisdoms:
1. Branch wisdom no. 1: People frequently ignore or severely underestimate the extent to which
their actions in a situation are determined by the similar actions of others there.
Example of street musician. This illustrates that people are poor at recognizing why they
Margot Janus, 2021 4
