The role of protest scenario in the neural response to the supportive communication

Abstract

People are capable of understanding the suffering of distant others and of their personal responsibility in this suffering. The communication of harm and self-responsibility in the suffering of others leads to greater moral sensitivity. Two studies were carried out to test our hypotheses. In Study 1 we analyse the emotional response to the scripts using a correlational study. In Study 2 we use functional MRI to investigate brain activation associated with the communication of harm and self-responsibility in a moral scenario on supportive communication. Direct comparison between donor and protest scenarios yielded a significant activation in the left amygdala usually associated with moral emotions. Responses in supportive communication scenarios show that donors can feel personally involved in a moral issue if they perceive the harm and their selfresponsibility. Our results suggest that the creation of a communications structure based on social condemnation increases moral sensitivity to poverty.