Neural signals predict information sharing across cultures

Abstract

Information sharing influences which messages spread and shape beliefs, behavior and culture. In a pre-registered neuroimaging study conducted in the US and the Netherlands we demonstrate replicability, generalizability, and predictive validity of a brain-based prediction model of information sharing. Replicating findings in Scholz et al (2017), Proc Natl Acad Sci 114, 2881–2886, self-, social- and value-related neural signals in a sample of individuals tracked the population sharing of US news articles. Pre-registered brain-based prediction models trained on Scholz et al (2017) data proved generalizable in the new data, explaining more variance in population sharing than self-report ratings alone. Neural signals (versus self-reports) more reliably predicted sharing cross-culturally, suggesting that they capture more universal psychological mechanisms underlying sharing behavior. These findings highlight key neurocognitive foundations of sharing, suggest potential target mechanisms to increase message effectiveness, and advance brain-as-predictor research.

Perceived self and social relevance of content motivates news sharing across cultures and topics

“…In line with theoretical predictions (Berger, 2014;Falk & Scholz, 2018), we found that when people perceived content as more self and socially relevant, or the content elicited stronger activity in brain regions associated with self-referential processing and mentalizing, people reported stronger sharing intentions. Together with previous research examining specific self and social goals (Scholz et al, 2023), self-reported self and social relevance (Cosme et al, 2022), and activity in these brain systems (Baek et al, 2017a;Chan et al, 2023;Motoki et al, 2020;Scholz et al, 2017), these findings provide compelling correlational evidence that self-related and social motives encourage sharing.…”

“…These findings advance the value-based framework of sharing, which highlights selfrelated and social motives as two important sources of value when deciding whether or not to share (Scholz, Jovanova, et al, 2020;. Whereas previous studies testing this framework have been primarily correlational in nature (Baek et al, 2017a;Chan et al, 2023;Motoki et al, 2020;Scholz et al, 2017;Scholz, Jovanova, et al, 2020), this study adds critical causal evidence for the idea that self-related and social motives-here engaged through active reflection on the self and social relevance of information-drive sharing behavior and are supported by brain regions implicated in self-referential and social cognitive processes.…”

“…Building on these correlational findings, we found that reflecting on why content is relevant to oneself or people in one's social network increased activity in brain regions associated with self-referential processing and mentalizing, adding causal evidence that manipulating self-related and social motives increases activity in the same brain regions that have been shown to be correlationally associated with sharing (Baek et al, 2017a;Chan et al, 2023;Motoki et al, 2020;Scholz et al, 2017). Although the manipulations were not powerful enough to alter subsequent sharing intentions in the fMRI study, we replicated prior findings (Cosme et al, 2022) and found that when successfully deployed, these sharer-focused interventions effectively increased intentions to share.…”

“…Because humans tend to assign positive value to their self-concepts (Beer & Hughes, 2010;Chavez et al, 2016;D'Argembeau, 2013;Pfeifer & Berkman, 2018) and to holding positive relationships with others (Baumeister & Leary, 1995), the perceived self and social relevance of content are posited as key inputs that help determine how valuable the act of sharing will be. Evidence for this hypothesis comes from neuroimaging studies showing that decisions to share and population-level metrics of large-scale information sharing are associated with increased activity in brain regions associated with self-referential processing, social cognition, and valuation (Baek et al, 2017a;Chan et al, 2023;Scholz et al, 2017;Scholz, Jovanova, et al, 2020). Behavioral studies also show positive correlations between sharing intentions and self-reported perceptions of content self and social relevance (Cosme et al, 2022b).…”

“…Initial work testing the value-based framework of sharing indexed self-related and social motives using brain activity within specific regions of interest (ROIs) involved in self-referential and social cognitive processing (Baek et al, 2017;Chan et al, 2023;Scholz et al, 2017.…”