Spite Versus Fairness: What Makes the Difference in the Brain?

Human sense for fairness is intrinsically related to the readiness to punish free-riders even at self-cost. This behavior is fundamental to keep complex human cooperation running. It has been dubbed as "altruistic punishment". However, the driving psychological forces behind it are still unclear. This presentation will show some recent neurobiological findings indicating that not all of this punishment is purely fairness driven, but rather associated with competitive spite.