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Science 3 November 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5800, p. 721
DOI: 10.1126/science.314.5800.721k
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This Week in Science

In the two-player ultimatum game, low offers made by the first player to divide the pot of money unequally are considered unfair. The second player can choose either to accept these low offers (in which case the first player walks away with more than half of the pot) or to reject them (in which case neither player receives anything), with the outcome reflecting the competition between selfishness and indignation. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is thought to play a role in the decision-making process. Knoch et al. (p. 829, published online 5 October) used repetitive transcranial stimulation to test this directly by interfering with DLPFC function. Suppressing DLPFC activity tilted the competitive motivations toward the side of selfish behavior and a greater acceptance of unfair offers.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)