The good, the bad, and the different: Understanding stigma towards people with facial differences

好的，坏的，和不同的：理解对面部差异的人的耻辱 项目总结/摘要 电影中的恶棍比英雄更有可能被描绘成面部异常（例如，疣，疤痕），这表明 电影制作人在塑造恶棍时，利用了美与道德相关的直觉。这一观察提出了 关于这种关系的性质的问题：是否对面部不同的人进行更严厉的道德错误判断？ 他们从慷慨中受益的次数少吗？他们的虐待是由观察者的亲社会（例如， 移情关注）或反社会（例如，厌恶）的情绪反应，因为这种情绪是众所周知的， 以不同的方式影响道德行为还是通过塑造与道德有关的价值观的倾向？或由 看到面部异常时的神经反应我们最近发现的证据表明， 面部异常与非人性化的神经标记有关的人（即，介质失活 前额叶皮层; mPFC）。面部异常可能错误地表明健康状况不佳，尽管与疾病无关。 潜在的疾病，导致厌恶感，能够激发非人性化的行为。此帐户 与最近的厌恶进化模型一致，表明它有助于限制病原体暴露， 规范道德行为。最近的一项荟萃分析发现，厌恶对社会道德判断几乎没有影响， 然而，仅仅暗示厌恶并不能解释“不同就是坏”的偏见。如果这种偏差与以下因素有因果关系， 非人性化，表现为对他人的不人道或冷漠对待，那么它的 存在应该预测更多的反社会性和/或更少的亲社会性针对不同的脸。的目的 本项目是：1.为了量化对面部差异的人的非人性化行为， 行为经济游戏2.确定mPFC是否预测非人性化行为 去活化3.为了确定mPFC在引起非人性化行为方面的必要性，使用 损伤方法。在获得和规范化有和没有异常的面部照片后，一项研究将 参与者将进行经济游戏，据称与图中描绘的人一起进行。 功能性磁共振成像扫描的照片。在一项单独的研究中，病变患者将扮演行为版本的 经济游戏。宾夕法尼亚大学是进行拟议的 鉴于病变患者数据库的可访问性和最先进的 神经成像设备赞助团队在神经经济学和高级神经影像学方面的专业知识 方法完全符合申请人的培训需求，并提供进一步发展的机会 通过相关的课程和研讨会。了解人们如何看待和对待有面部表情的人 差异可以为旨在教育公众了解偏见及其后果的干预措施提供信息， 揭示了一个被低估的心理负担，由那些看起来不同的人承担。

The good, the bad, and the different: Understanding stigma towards people with facial differences Project Summary / Abstract Movie villains are more likely than heroes to be depicted with facial anomalies (e.g., warts, scars), suggesting filmmakers exploit intuitions that beauty and morality are related when creating villains. This observation raises questions about the nature of this relationship: Are the facially different judged more harshly for moral wrongs? Do they benefit less often from generosity? Is their mistreatment predicted by observers’ prosocial (e.g., empathic concern) or antisocial (e.g., disgust) emotional responses to them, since such emotions are known to influence moral behavior in different ways? Or by dispositions that shape values relating to morality? Or by the neural response to seeing facial anomalies? We recently found evidence for a “different-is-bad” bias against people with facial anomalies that was linked to a neural marker of dehumanization (i.e., deactivation in medial prefrontal cortex; mPFC). Facial anomalies may incorrectly signal poor health despite being unrelated to an underlying illness, leading to feelings of disgust capable of motivating dehumanizing behaviors. This account is consistent with recent evolutionary models of disgust suggesting it serves to limit pathogen exposure and to regulate moral behavior. A recent meta-analysis found little to no effect of disgust on sociomoral judgments, however, suggesting disgust alone cannot explain the different-is-bad bias. If this bias is causally related to dehumanization, which manifests behaviorally as inhumane or cold treatment towards others, then its presence should predict more antisociality and/or less prosociality directed at the facially different. The aims of this project are: 1. To quantify dehumanizing behavior towards people with facial differences using behavioral economic games. 2. To determine whether dehumanizing behavior is predicted by mPFC deactivation. 3. To establish the necessity of the mPFC in giving rise to dehumanizing behavior using the lesion method. After acquiring and norming photographs of faces with and without anomalies, a study will be carried out in which participants will play economic games, purportedly with the people depicted in the photographs, during fMRI scanning. In a separate study, lesion patients will play behavioral versions of the economic games. The University of Pennsylvania is the ideal environment in which to conduct the proposed research given the accessibility of the lesion patient database and the availability of state-of-the-art neuroimaging facilities. The sponsorship team’s expertise in neuroeconomics and advanced neuroimaging methods fits the applicant’s training needs perfectly, and opportunities for further development are available through relevant coursework and seminars. Understanding how people think about and treat people with facial differences could inform interventions aimed at educating the public about bias and its consequences, thereby illuminating an underappreciated psychological burden shouldered by people who look different.