Empathic concern drives costly altruism - ScienceDirect

• Trait empathic concern predicts altruistic action. • State distress, but not trait distress, predicts altruistic action. • A network comprised of VTA, caudate and sgACC support other-oriented prosocial decisions. • Neural evidence supporting caregiving model: social reward and attachment guides altruism. Trait empathic concern predicts altruistic action. State distress, but not trait distress, predicts altruistic action. A network comprised of VTA, caudate and sgACC support other-oriented prosocial decisions. Neural evidence supporting caregiving model: social reward and attachment guides altruism. Why do we self-sacrifice to help others in distress? Two competing theories have emerged, one suggesting that prosocial behavior is primarily motivated by feelings of empathic other-oriented concern, the other that we help mainly because we are egoistically focused on reducing our own discomfort. Here we explore the relationship between costly altruism and these two sub-processes of

• Trait empathic concern predicts altruistic action. • State distress, but not trait distress, predicts altruistic action. • A network comprised of VTA, caudate and sgACC support other-oriented prosocial decisions. • Neural evidence supporting caregiving model: social reward and attachment guides altruism. Trait empathic concern predicts altruistic action. State distress, but not trait distress, predicts altruistic action. A network comprised of VTA, caudate and sgACC support other-oriented prosocial decisions. Neural evidence supporting caregiving model: social reward and attachment guides al