Altruistic Punishment

Abstract

Altruism can be regarded as one crucial challenge in the neuroeconomic study of human behavior. This challenge is at least threefold: First, altruism needs to be defined properly; second, its diverse behavioral expressions require elucidation; and third, its underlying mechanisms need to be delineated in order to understand why individuals behave altruistically. The present chapter therefore aims at providing a working definition of altruism and at focusing on one particular behavioral expression—namely altruistic punishment—and its role in human cooperation. It proceeds with exemplifying several experimental paradigms in the study of altruistic punishment and finally summarizes key findings on its neuroscientific underpinnings. A special emphasis will be on neuroimaging and psychophysiological studies and on an outlook on potential neuromodulatory influences. In doing so, this overview can by no means be exhaustive; rather, it is intended to provide a general impression of the current state of the neuroscientific study of the complex trait of altruism.