Goal Achievement Failure Drives Corticospinal Modulation in Promotion and Prevention Contexts

Abstract

When making decisions, people are typically differently sensitive to gains and losses according to the motivational context in which the choice is performed. As hypothesized by Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT), indeed, goals are supposed to change in relation to the set of possible outcomes. In particular, in a promotion context, the goal is achieving the maximal gain, whereas in a prevention context it turns into avoiding the greatest loss. We explored the neurophysiological counterpart of this phenomenon, by applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and recording the motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in participants taking part in an economic game, in which they observed actions conveying different goal attainment levels, framed in different motivational contexts. More than the actual value of the economic exchange involved in the game, what affected motor cortex excitability was the goal attainment failure, corresponding to not achieving the maximal payoff in a promotion context and not avoiding the greatest snatch in a prevention context. Therefore, the results provide support for the key predictions of RFT, identifying a neural signature for the goal attainment failure.

Neuro Law and Economics

“…These results are very important for a legislator and for policy, because explore the people's reactions to injustices. Following this work, it has been showed that promotion and prevention contexts matter (Lo Gerfo et al 2018) and that pro-social and antisocial punishment are driven by different areas of our brain (Lo Gerfo et al 2019).…”

Grey Regulatory Focus Theory Weighting Method for the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Problem in Evaluating University Reputation

“…Most importantly, Higgins and Cornwell [78] extensively discussed the frontier of RFT and presented the effects of both prevention and promotion focus on decision-making, but the aspect of the MCDM weighting method was not mentioned. Lastly, Lo Gerfo et al [79] conducted neurophysiological testing of the RFT and showed DMs indeed could be either more promotion focused or more prevention focused. This research fills the gap in the literature that has not applied the RFT in MCDM in estimating the weights of the DMs in an uncertain decision-making environment by measuring the DMs' weight from both promotion and prevention focus orientations.…”

M1 Large-scale Network Dynamics Support Human Motor Resonance and Its Plastic Reshaping

“…The increased reactivity of the primary motor cortex (M1) during action observation has been interpreted as evidence of the recruitment of mirror neurons within the so-called action observation network (AON), and it is considered one of the most reliable indexes for non-invasively investigating motor resonance in the human brain (for a review, see: Naish, Houston-Price, Bremner, & Holmes, 2014). Notably, embodied theories of cognition hold that motor resonance is necessary for understanding the intention of others and for the inference of their action goals (Gallese & Goldman, 1998; Kaplan & Iacoboni, 2006; Keysers & Gazzola, 2006), and experimental evidence suggests a pivotal role of this phenomenon for social cognition, action understanding, and emphatic abilities (e.g., Avenanti, Sirigu, & Aglioti, 2010; Bekkali et al, 2021; Bucchioni, Cavallo, Ippolito, Marton, & Castiello, 2013; Guidali, Picardi, Franca, Caronni, & Bolognini, 2023; Hogeveen & Obhi, 2012; Lo Gerfo et al, 2018; Mehta, Ashok, Thirthalli, & Keshavan, 2019; Orban, Lanzilotto, & Bonini, 2021; Pisoni et al, 2014).…”