Cognitive and neural bases of decision-making causing civilian casualties during intergroup conflict
Cognitive and neural bases of decision-making causing civilian casualties during intergroup conflict
Abstract Civilian casualties occur during military attacks. Such “collateral damage” is prohibited by international laws but increases with substantial consequences when intergroup conflict escalates. Here, we investigate cognitive and neural bases of decision-making processes resulting in civilian harm, using a task that simulates punishment decision-making during intergroup conflict. We test two groups of Chinese participants in a laboratory setting, and two ethnic groups (Jewish and Palestinian) in Israel. The results dissociate two psychological constructs, harm preference and harm avoidance, which respectively characterize punishment decision-making related to outgroup combatants and outgroup noncombatants during intergroup conflict. In particular, individuals show decreased avoidance of harming outgroup noncombatants when conflict escalates. Brain imaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) reveals that decreased harm avoidance is predicted by inhibition of the left middle frontal activity during selection of punishment decisions. Our findings provide insight into the cognitive and neural bases of decision-making involving civilian harm during intergroup conflict.
Zhou Shuai、Shamay-Tsoory Simone、Gelfand Michele J.、Han Shihui、Wu Taoyu、Gao Tianyu、Han Xiaochun、Fahoum Nardine、Wu Xinhuai
Department of Radiology, The 7th Medical Center of PLA General HospitalDepartment of Psychology, University of HaifaDepartment of Psychology, University of MarylandSchool of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University||PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University||Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking UniversitySchool of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University||PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University||Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking UniversitySchool of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University||PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University||Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking UniversitySchool of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University||PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University||Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking UniversityDepartment of Psychology, University of HaifaDepartment of Radiology, The 7th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital
军事理论生物科学理论、生物科学方法人类学
Zhou Shuai,Shamay-Tsoory Simone,Gelfand Michele J.,Han Shihui,Wu Taoyu,Gao Tianyu,Han Xiaochun,Fahoum Nardine,Wu Xinhuai.Cognitive and neural bases of decision-making causing civilian casualties during intergroup conflict[EB/OL].(2025-03-28)[2025-08-02].https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.04.411280.点此复制
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