Classification of Altruistic Punishment Decisions by Optical Neuroimaging and Machine Learning Methods

Abstract

Altruistic punishment (third-party punishment) is important in terms of maintaining social norms and promoting prosocial behavior. This study examined data obtained using the near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) method to predict altruistic punishment decisions. It was found that specific neural activity patterns were significantly related to decisions regarding the punishment of the perpetrator. This research contributes to the development of social decision-making models and helps advance our understanding of the cognitive and neural processes involved in third-party punishments.