Goal-directed, habitual and Pavlovian prosocial behavior

Abstract

Although prosocial behaviors have been widely studied across disciplines, the mechanisms underlying them are not fully understood. Evidence from psychology, biology and economics suggests that prosocial behaviors can be driven by a variety of seemingly opposing factors: altruism or egoism, intuition or deliberation, inborn instincts or learned dispositions, and utility derived from actions or their outcomes. Here we propose a framework inspired by research on reinforcement learning and decision making that links these processes and explains characteristics of prosocial behaviors in different contexts. More specifically, we suggest that prosocial behaviors inherit features of up to three decision-making systems employed to choose between self- and other- regarding acts: a goal-directed system that selects actions based on their predicted consequences, a habitual system that selects actions based on their reinforcement history, and a Pavlovian system that emits reflexive responses based on evolutionarily prescribed priors. This framework, initially described in the field of cognitive neuroscience and machine learning, provides insight into the potential neural circuits and computations shaping prosocial behaviors. Furthermore, it identifies specific conditions in which each of these three systems should dominate and promote other- or self- regarding behavior.

Serotonin depletion amplifies distinct human social emotions as a function of individual differences in personality

“…Emotions prepare the body for action or inaction (Tooby and Cosmides, 2008). Our findings on the serotonergic modulation of social emotion converge with the literature on social decision-making, and we propose that our results represent a Pavlovian influence that can shape social behaviour (Gesiarz & Crockett, 2015). The deployment of empathy has additionally been described as having a Pavlovian character, which can shape behaviour triggered by cues signalling harm (Gesiarz & Crockett, 2015).…”

“…These domains can be viewed under a unified framework by considering how serotonin impacts Pavlovian (stimulus-outcome, including emotional) and instrumental (stimulusresponse-outcome; behavioural) processes that underlie both social and non-social functions (Gesiarz & Crockett, 2015). Much recent work on the relationship between serotonin, aversive processing, and human social behaviour has focused on instrumental action in the context of behavioural economic games and moral dilemmas (Crockett et al 2008(Crockett et al , 2010a(Crockett et al , 2010b.…”

Emotion-based learning systems and the development of morality

“…Note though, given this clinical population, the literature considered here will almost exclusively involve consideration of judgments of transgressions and antisocial behavior. Discussion of prosocial behavior can be found elsewhere (Gesiarz & Crockett, 2015). …”

Opening up the DNA methylome of dementia

“…Age-associated alterations at the levels of 5 mC and 5 hmC and other epigenetic marks 47, 48 have been associated with the progression of AD. 49, 50 Several AD-associated genes have been analyzed at the epigenetic level.…”