Wang Minda, Li Jianbiao, Li Dahui, Zhu Chengkang
School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Reinhard Selten Laboratory, China Academy of Corporate Governance, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
Front Neurosci. 2019 Jun 11;13:528. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00528. eCollection 2019.
Overbidding, which means bidding over the Nash equilibrium, is commonly observed in competitive social interactions, such as a contest or auction. Recent neuroscience studies show that the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) is related to overbidding and associated with inferring the intentions of others during competitive interactions. The present study investigates the neural underpinnings of overbidding and how the rTPJ impacts bidding behavior by using tDCS to modulate the activation of the rTPJ. Participants completed a two-person proportional prize contest, in which overbidding was frequently observed and each participant's share of the prize was equal to the individual's expenditure divided by the aggregated expenditure. We observed a significant tDCS effect, i.e., participants' average expenditure and overbidding rate were significantly reduced in the anodal stimulation compared with the cathodal and sham stimulation. Possible explanations include that enhanced activity in the rTPJ via the anodal stimulation increased the accuracy of a participant's inference of the strategies of others, or a participant's concern for others, and thus helped the participant bid optimally. Our findings provide evidence supporting that the activation of the rTPJ in contests affects overbidding and bidding strategy, and further confirm that the rTPJ is involved in the inference of mental states in a competition context.
出价过高，即出价超过纳什均衡，在竞争性社会互动中很常见，比如竞赛或拍卖。最近的神经科学研究表明，右侧颞顶联合区（rTPJ）与出价过高有关，并且在竞争性互动中与推断他人意图相关。本研究通过使用经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）来调节rTPJ的激活，探究出价过高的神经基础以及rTPJ如何影响出价行为。参与者完成了一场两人比例奖金竞赛，其中经常观察到出价过高的情况，并且每个参与者的奖金份额等于个人支出除以总支出。我们观察到了显著的tDCS效应，即与阴极和假刺激相比，阳极刺激下参与者的平均支出和出价过高率显著降低。可能的解释包括，通过阳极刺激增强的rTPJ活动提高了参与者对他人策略的推断准确性，或者参与者对他人的关注，从而帮助参与者进行最优出价。我们的研究结果提供了证据支持竞赛中rTPJ的激活会影响出价过高和出价策略，并进一步证实rTPJ参与竞争情境中的心理状态推断。
