The Cognitive Mechanisms of Support-Giving

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Support-giving – such as giving advice or comfort to a friend, caring for a family member, or volunteering at a local nonprofit – occurs on a daily basis, but the cognitive mechanisms by which this relatively prevalent social behavior occurs remains an open question for research. Filling this gap in knowledge is necessary for understanding the origins of cooperative behavior and why people act supportively even when there are costs to the self. Findings from the current basic science work will help build a scientifically validated foundation to inform future interventions aimed at increasing support-giving behavior, a behavior that has already been linked with decreased loneliness and increased longevity. Thus, results have the potential to address increasing societal challenges that affect the ability to live healthy and productive lives. To enhance the research capacity of a more diverse research workforce, students from underrepresented backgrounds in science will receive advanced training in neuroscience methods and data analysis techniques.The research combines two previously separate theoretical traditions to suggest that the seeds of support-giving behavior are inherent to the brain’s activity at rest, where one is undisturbed from external demands. Merging perspectives may explain why such a large part of human sociality is supportive behavior and clarify a social function of the brain. To test research questions, brain activity will be measured as participants complete tasks where there will be opportunities to rest followed by opportunities to give support to others and control conditions where there are no opportunities to rest and where other decisions are possible. Brain activity will also be assessed as a predictor of real-world support-giving behavior. Hypotheses are that the brain at rest will be related to faster decisions to give support to others, but not other decisions, and more time spent engaged in real-world support-giving behavior.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.