# Neural architecture of social punishment: Insights from a queue-jumping scenario

## TL;DR

This study explores how the brain processes social punishment using a queue-jumping scenario, revealing altruistic motives and a specific neural network.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel queue-jumping paradigm that reflects real-life punitive behaviors and identifies a social punishment neural network.

## Key findings

- Participants prioritized collective interests over personal ones when deciding to punish queue-jumpers.
- A social punishment network involving multiple brain regions predicts individual tendencies to punish.
- The paradigm shows strong generalizability to real-life situations and punitive behaviors.

## Abstract

Punishment in social settings is crucial for maintaining collective interests, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To address this, we developed a paradigm, the queue-jumping task, where participants imagine experiencing a queue-jumping event through vivid pictorial scenarios. Behavioral findings revealed that individuals prioritized collective interests over personal ones when punishing, highlighting the altruistic nature of social punishment. Neuroimaging results demonstrated that social punishment activated multiple neural circuits associated with social norms (e.g., fusiform gyrus and posterior cingulate cortex), self-related processing (e.g., ventromedial prefrontal cortex and middle cingulate cortex), and punishment implementation (e.g., anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and middle temporal gyrus). Brain network analyses uncovered a social punishment network whose efficacy in information transmission forecasts individuals’ tendency to punish. This study provides valuable insights into the cognitive and neural mechanisms involved in social punishment. The current paradigm closely reflects real-life queue-jumping situations and daily punitive behaviors, demonstrating its generalizability and validity.

•We developed the queue-jumping paradigm to study social punishment•The paradigm mirrors real-life queue-jumping and correlates with actual punitive behaviors•Individuals prioritize collective interests, highlighting punishment’s altruistic nature•Neuroimaging reveals a social punishment network, predicting individual punishment tendencies

We developed the queue-jumping paradigm to study social punishment

The paradigm mirrors real-life queue-jumping and correlates with actual punitive behaviors

Individuals prioritize collective interests, highlighting punishment’s altruistic nature

Neuroimaging reveals a social punishment network, predicting individual punishment tendencies

Neuroscience; Psychology