The role of empathy in social decision-making

This project investigates the influence of empathy on human decision-making behaviour in social interactions. The investigation of empathic processes within decision-making situations has the advantage that established models of decision-making behaviour can be used as an example, and deviations from optimal behavior can be observed and explained. Thus, we will not only examine healthy participants in the project, but also two groups of participants who are expected to show deviations from so-called optimal behaviour, based on previous literature. On the one hand, we will test participants who have already suffered from depression once or several times in their lives, and on the other hand, we will test participants with the personality trait alexithymia, i.e. emotional blindness. After designing and testing a novel experimental paradigm in a first step, two studies employing functional magnetic resonance imaging will be carried out in the next step, including the groups of participants mentioned above. This will allow us to observe and assess decision-making behaviour and the underlying processes that take place in the brain during the simulated social interactions. In addition to the new experimental paradigm, established empathy paradigms will also be used, by means of which the potential connection between susceptibility to depression and deviations in various subcomponents of empathy (e.g. processes such as affect sharing or mentalizing) will be investigated. The project is led by principal investigator Dr. Markus Rütgen and will be carried out in Sweden (Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience) in cooperation with Assoc.-Prof. Predrag Petrovic and Prof. Andreas Olsson. In the first two years, the conceptual phase and the first experiments, including the first functional magnetic resonance imaging study, will take place. In the third year, the second functional magnetic resonance imaging study (on the subject of alexithymia) will be carried out back in Vienna (University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology) together with Prof. Claus Lamm.

This research project conducted a comprehensive investigation into the complex dynamics between empathetic processes and human decision-making in social interactions. A primary focus was placed on how variations in empathy - specifically within the context of depression - influence patterns of social behavior. By developing innovative experimental approaches, the project gained significant insights into how we navigate social situations and how this behavior is guided by our resonance with others. A major milestone was the completion of a large-scale systematic investigation, which analyzed the causal links between changes in pain perception, social emotions, and prosocial behavior. This extensive synthesis of existing literature highlighted how profoundly psychological and pharmacological factors can influence empathy. Notably, the findings regarding the role of placebo analgesia, which significantly reduces empathetic resonance, provided an essential theoretical foundation for understanding interpersonal interactions under the influence of pain modulation. Furthermore, a pivotal review and opinion paper was published, proposing a novel model for the systematic modulation of empathy and related processes. This model illustrates that the sharing of emotions occurs across different psychological levels - ranging from highly specific reactions to more general emotional evaluations. This work offers a crucial framework for understanding why clinical conditions are often accompanied by impairments in social behavior. Given the high societal prevalence of pain and affective disorders, these insights carry immense practical relevance. On an experimental level, the novel experimental paradigm proposed in the initial project description was successfully developed and validated. It allows for the precise measurement of behavioral variations in social decision-making situations. The investigations employing this task, particularly regarding the relationship between empathy and depression, provide valuable insights into the psychological mechanisms underlying social difficulties in clinical populations. In conclusion, the project has not only expanded the methodological toolkit for studying social cognition but has also established theoretical models that serve as a fundamental reference for future research on empathy, clinical disorders, and interpersonal behavior.