Our Brains are Hardwired to Dislike Inequality, Regardless of Status

[TalkingDog]

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2010/02/physiological-evidence-of-brains-response-to-inequality.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+EconomistsView+(Economist's+View+(EconomistsView))

Which begs the question: Whence Greed? And more specifically, how can people deny other people things like health care, food or jobs?

Specifically, the team found that the reward centers in the human brain respond more strongly when a poor person receives a financial reward than when a rich person does. The surprising thing? This activity pattern holds true even if the brain being looked at is in the rich person's head, rather than the poor person's.

But what was unknown was just how hardwired that dislike really is. "In this study, we're starting to get an idea of where this inequality aversion comes from," he says. "It's not just the application of a social rule or convention; there's really something about the basic processing of rewards in the brain that reflects these considerations."

The brain processes "rewards"—things like food, money, and even pleasant music, which create positive responses in the body—in areas such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and ventral striatum.

[seeinfweggos]

1. so then how do you explain

the world?

[TalkingDog]

3. Hey, I'm making no attempt to explain.

Just the facts ma'm.

If you read my post, you see that I, at least, implied the same question.

[seeinfweggos]

4. i know. i'm just agreeing with you. nt

[TalkingDog]

5. oops, my bad n/t

[seeinfweggos]

6. my bad. i was posing the same rhetorical question. good post btw

k+r

[woo me with science]

2. Even dogs understand this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3636671

[scheming daemons]

7. Not Republican brains...

..