The Cognitive Mechanisms of Support-Giving

支持的认知机制

• 批准号: 2220801
• 负责人: Tristen Inagaki
• 金额: $ 57.38万
• 依托单位: San Diego State University Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2027-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2220801&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Cognitive; Mechanisms; Support; Giving

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.

给予支持--比如给朋友建议或安慰，照顾家人，或者在当地的非营利组织做志愿者--每天都在发生，但是这种相对普遍的社会行为发生的认知机制仍然是一个有待研究的问题。填补这一知识空白对于理解合作行为的起源以及为什么人们即使在自我付出代价的情况下也会采取合作行为是必要的。目前基础科学工作的发现将有助于建立一个科学验证的基础，为未来旨在增加支持行为的干预措施提供信息，这种行为已经与减少孤独和延长寿命有关。因此，这些成果有可能解决影响健康和富有成效生活能力的日益增加的社会挑战。为了提高更多样化的研究队伍的研究能力，来自科学背景不足的学生将接受神经科学方法和数据分析技术的高级培训。这项研究结合了两个以前独立的理论传统，表明支持行为的种子是大脑在休息时的活动所固有的，在这种情况下，一个人不受外部需求的干扰。合并的观点可以解释为什么人类社会性的很大一部分是支持性行为，并澄清大脑的社会功能。为了测试研究问题，将在参与者完成任务时测量大脑活动，这些任务将有机会休息，然后有机会为他人提供支持，并控制没有机会休息和其他决定可能的条件。大脑活动也将被评估为现实世界中给予支持行为的预测指标。假设大脑休息将与更快地决定给予他人支持有关，而不是其他决定，以及更多的时间花在现实世界的支持给予行为上。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。