Scientists found the structure of the brain responsible for honesty
Neuroscientists from Switzerland and the USA found out what area of the brain responsible for the choice to be honest or the greatest benefit for themselves. On their study, they reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In the experiment, the subjects (145) took part in the game, which could double your winnings if he decided to deceive the experimenters. As it was easy to cheat, to deceive resorted to quite often.
Many people have made the decision to cheat or not, in each case separately. They cheated, but not whenever could it deleteself Marshalgrover of the University of Zurich, one of the authors
The frequency of cheating, the scientists were able to reduce by more than half by stimulating the right part of the dorsolateral prefrontal areas of the brain with direct current.
However, such effect has some limitations. First, to reduce the frequency of cheating this way is possible only if the benefits it gets from the man himself, and not someone else. Second, it does not affect other types of behavior, e.g., risk-taking and impulsivity. In addition, the behavior of those 8% of subjects who used every opportunity to deceive, has not changed.
“This observation suggests that the stimulation reduces the frequency of deception only those participants who were facing a moral dilemma, and did not affect the decision of those who confidently attain maximum benefits,” explained co-author, Professor at the University of Zurich Christian ruff.