Neural Mechanisms Underlying Individual Differences in Control-Averse Behavior

Abstract

When another person tries to control one's decisions, some people might comply, but many will feel the urge to act against that control. This control aversion can lead to suboptimal decisions and it affects social interactions in many societal domains. To date, however, it has been unclear what drives individual differences in control-averse behavior. Here, we address this issue by measuring brain activity with fMRI while healthy female and male human participants made choices that were either free or controlled by another person, with real consequences to both interaction partners. In addition, we assessed the participants' affects, social cognitions, and motivations via self-reports. Our results indicate that the social cognitions perceived distrust and lack of understanding for the other person play a key role in explaining control aversion at the behavioral level. At the neural level, we find that control-averse behavior can be explained by functional connectivity between the inferior parietal lobule and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, brain regions commonly associated with attention reorientation and cognitive control. Further analyses reveal that the individual strength of functional connectivity complements and partially mediates the self-reported social cognitions in explaining individual differences in control-averse behavior. These findings therefore provide valuable contributions to a more comprehensive model of control aversion.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Control aversion is a prevalent phenomenon in our society. When someone tries to control their decisions, many people tend to act against the control. This can lead to suboptimal decisions such as noncompliance to medical treatments or disobeying the law. The degree to which individuals engage in control-averse behavior, however, varies significantly. Understanding the proximal mechanisms that underlie individual differences in control-averse behavior has potential policy implications, for example, when designing policies aimed at increasing compliance with vaccination recommendations, and is therefore a highly relevant research goal. Here, we identify a neural mechanism between parietal and prefrontal brain regions that can explain individual differences in control-averse behavior. This mechanism provides novel insights into control aversion beyond what is accessible through self-reports.

Intrinsic connectivity networks underlying individual differences in control‐averse behavior

“…Albeit nonsignificant, this association is in line with a recent finding that a decreased intrinsic connectivity between the SN and the CEN is associated with less generous choices in a trust game (Cáceda et al, ). The finding also links the resting state fMRI data to the task‐related fMRI data, which revealed an association between the individual level of control‐averse behavior and an increased functional connectivity between two core regions of the CEN, the inferior parietal lobule and the dlPFC, in the Controlled as opposed to the Free condition (Rudorf et al, ). Similar to the resting state fMRI data, the intrinsic connectivity between these two CEN nodes, that is, the residual functional connectivity after controlling for the events of the task, did not predict control‐averse behavior.…”

“…To measure each individual's level of control‐averse behavior, we implemented a Control aversion task based on a principal‐agent game previously used in behavioral economics (Falk & Kosfeld, ; Schmelz & Ziegelmeyer, ; Ziegelmeyer et al, ). Subjects completed the task while they were lying in an MRI scanner as part of an omnibus project; the task‐based fMRI data are reported elsewhere (Rudorf et al, ). In the Control aversion task, subjects are repeatedly asked to allocate money between themselves and an anonymous other person, called player A.…”

“…Importantly, individuals differ in the extent of their control‐averse behavior (Falk & Kosfeld, ; Ziegelmeyer, Schmelz, & Ploner, ), but the origin of this heterogeneity is less well understood. Whereas previous work has associated control aversion with negative affects and a sense of being restricted in one's freedom of choice (Dillard & Shen, ; Miron & Brehm, ), more recent work has highlighted the role of social cognitions, such as perceived distrust, in driving control‐averse behavior in social interactions (Falk & Kosfeld, ; Rudorf et al, ). To date, however, little is known about the underlying neurobiological basis of individual differences in control‐averse behavior.…”

“…Although the DMN is the ICN that is predominantly associated with social cognitive functions, recent work has highlighted the roles of the SN and CEN in predicting reciprocal social behavior (Cáceda, James, Gutman, & Kilts, ) and tendencies for cooperative behavior (Hahn et al, ). Similarly, control‐averse behavior in social interactions relies on social cognitive functions and choosing between cooperative and noncompliant social behavior (Falk & Kosfeld, ; Rudorf et al, ). Taken together, their contribution to these central aspects of human social behavior makes the CEN, SN, and DMN prime candidates for neural traits of control‐averse behavior.…”

Cerebral responses to self-initiated action during social interactions

“…Thus, to the extent that ball tosses are dictated by the behavioral task, these neural processes may not speak directly to self-agency. Furthermore, self-agency may play a role in decision making more broadly in and beyond social interactions; e.g., in determining individual differences in control-averse behavior (Rudorf et al, 2018), in modulating choice behavior when unexpected outcomes arise from errors in action (Parvin, McDougle, Taylor, & Ivry, 2018), and in mentalizing to assign third-party punishment (Ginther et al, 2016). The current findings may add to this literature and facilitate research of the influences of social exclusion on many other decision making processes that involve social interactions.…”