Cerebral Lateralization of Pro- and Anti-Social Tendencies

Abstract

Mounting evidence suggest that the right-hemisphere (RH) has a relative advantage, over the left-hemisphere (LH), in mediating social intelligence - identifying social stimuli, understanding the intentions of other people, awareness of the dynamics in social relationships, and successful handling of social interactions. Furthermore, a review and synthesis of the literature suggest that pro-social attitudes and behaviors are associated with physiological activity in the RH, whereas unsocial and anti-social tendencies are mediated primarily by the LH. This hemispheric asymmetry is rooted in several neurobiological and functional differences between the two hemispheres. (I) Positive social interactions often require inhibiting one's immediate desires and considering the perspectives and needs of others. Given that self-control is mediated by the RH, pro-social emotions and behaviors are, therefore, inherently associated with the RH as it subserves the brain's self-restraint mechanisms. (II) The RH mediates experiences of vulnerability. It registers the relative clumsiness and motor weakness of the left limbs, and it is involved, more than the LH, in processing threats and mediating fear. Emotional states of vulnerability trigger the need for affiliation and sociality, therefore the RH has a greater role in mediating pro-social attitudes and behaviors. (III) The RH mediates a holistic mode of representing the world. Holistic perception emphasizes similarities rather than differences, takes a long-term perspective, is associated with divergent thinking and seeing other points-of-view, and it mediates a personal mode of relating to people. All these features of holistic perception facilitate a more empathetic attitude toward others and pro-social behaviors.

All Our Sons: The Developmental Neurobiology and Neuroendocrinology of Boys at Risk

“…Hecht () marshalled a great deal of neurobiological studies to show that in adults, “the right hemisphere has a relative advantage over the left hemisphere mediating social intelligence—identifying social stimuli, understanding the intentions of other people, awareness of the dynamics in social relationships, and successful handling of social interactions” (p. 1). These expanded right‐brain social and emotional functions allow the adult male to enter into an intimate emotional relationship with a same‐aged female.…”

Being Someone: The Integrated Self as a Neuropsychological System

“…Although the right hemisphere is inferior to the left hemisphere in recognizing means‐end relationships or logical deductions (Deglin & Kinsbourne, ), it is superior in detecting remote or multiple semantic associations (Beeman, Friedman, Grafman, Perez, Diamond, & Lindsay, ; Bowden et al, ; Rotenberg, ) and in making intuitive‐holistic judgments concerning similarities between different objects or individuals (Deglin & Kinsbourne, ; Levy & Trevarthen, ). This high‐level holistic processing feature may be a possible basis of the self's capacity to support “self‐congruent” decisions that satisfy multiple constraints related to one's own (and even relevant others') needs, emotions, beliefs, and abilities (Hecht, ; Koole & Kuhl, ; Kuhl, ).…”

Lateral preference in Williams–Beuren syndrome is associated with cognition and language

“…There is evidence indicating that the right-hemisphere has a relative advantage over the left-hemisphere in mediating social intelligence [61]. However, neither approachability nor visuospatial skills showed association with lateral preference or IQ in WBS, suggesting that hypersociability does not correlate with social intelligence in WBS.…”