Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Neural systems for guilt from actions affecting self versus others.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Morey, RA; McCarthy, G; Selgrade, ES; Seth, S; Nasser, JD; LaBar, KS
Published in: Neuroimage
March 2012

Guilt is a core emotion governing social behavior by promoting compliance with social norms or self-imposed standards. The goal of this study was to contrast guilty responses to actions that affect self versus others, since actions with social consequences are hypothesized to yield greater guilty feelings due to adopting the perspective and subjective emotional experience of others. Sixteen participants were presented with brief hypothetical scenarios in which the participant's actions resulted in harmful consequences to self (guilt-self) or to others (guilt-other) during functional MRI. Participants felt more intense guilt for guilt-other than guilt-self and guilt-neutral scenarios. Guilt scenarios revealed distinct regions of activity correlated with intensity of guilt, social consequences of actions, and the interaction of guilt by social consequence. Guilt intensity was associated with activation of the dorsomedial PFC, superior frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and anterior inferior frontal gyrus. Guilt accompanied by social consequences was associated with greater activation than without social consequences in the ventromedial and dorsomedial PFC, precuneus, posterior cingulate, and posterior superior temporal sulcus. Finally, the interaction analysis highlighted select regions that were more strongly correlated with guilt intensity as a function of social consequence, including the left anterior inferior frontal gyrus, left ventromedial PFC, and left anterior inferior parietal cortex. Our results suggest these regions intensify guilt where harm to others may incur a greater social cost.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Neuroimage

DOI

EISSN

1095-9572

Publication Date

March 2012

Volume

60

Issue

1

Start / End Page

683 / 692

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Social Perception
  • Self Concept
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Guilt
  • Brain
  • 42 Health sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Morey, R. A., McCarthy, G., Selgrade, E. S., Seth, S., Nasser, J. D., & LaBar, K. S. (2012). Neural systems for guilt from actions affecting self versus others. Neuroimage, 60(1), 683–692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.069
Morey, Rajendra A., Gregory McCarthy, Elizabeth S. Selgrade, Srishti Seth, Jessica D. Nasser, and Kevin S. LaBar. “Neural systems for guilt from actions affecting self versus others.Neuroimage 60, no. 1 (March 2012): 683–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.069.
Morey RA, McCarthy G, Selgrade ES, Seth S, Nasser JD, LaBar KS. Neural systems for guilt from actions affecting self versus others. Neuroimage. 2012 Mar;60(1):683–92.
Morey, Rajendra A., et al. “Neural systems for guilt from actions affecting self versus others.Neuroimage, vol. 60, no. 1, Mar. 2012, pp. 683–92. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.069.
Morey RA, McCarthy G, Selgrade ES, Seth S, Nasser JD, LaBar KS. Neural systems for guilt from actions affecting self versus others. Neuroimage. 2012 Mar;60(1):683–692.
Journal cover image

Published In

Neuroimage

DOI

EISSN

1095-9572

Publication Date

March 2012

Volume

60

Issue

1

Start / End Page

683 / 692

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Social Perception
  • Self Concept
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Guilt
  • Brain
  • 42 Health sciences