Li Jianbiao, Chen Peikun, Pan Jingjing, Zhu Chengkang
School of Economics, Institute for Study of Brain-Like Economics, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Business School, University of Jinan, Jinan, China.
Neuroimage. 2024 Dec 15;304:120938. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120938. Epub 2024 Nov 16.
Partnership investment is a common form of business where investors have different levels of power and need to persuade each other to reach a consensus. This study investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the impact of decision-making power on persuasive communication in partnership investment, aiming to provide neural evidence to test two competing hypotheses: the power-responsibility hypothesis and the power-overconfidence hypothesis. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we recorded brain activity from persuader-receiver dyads as they engaged in a partnership investment task. Behavioral results showed that receivers' decisions were more affected by persuaders' persuasive messages when receivers had dominant decision-making power. Neurally, the functional connectivity (FC) between the left and right temporo-parietal junctions (lTPJ and rTPJ) of the receiver was significantly increased by their decision-making power. Additionally, we identified four pairs of interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) that exhibited significant enhancement when persuaders used numeric persuasion rather than non-numeric persuasion: lTPJ-rTPJ, left superior temporal gyrus (lSTG)-rTPJ, left middle temporal gyrus (lMTG)-rTPJ, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-lTPJ. The decision-making power amplified the INS difference in the last three pairs. Furthermore, using a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm, the INS could accurately predict receivers' adoption of persuasive messages when they held dominant decision-making power. Finally, we found that FC at lTPJ-rTPJ and INS at lSTG-rTPJ were positively associated with receivers' adoption of persuasive messages as well. Our study clarifies how decision-making power alters the way individuals process persuasive messages in partnership investment, providing insights into the neural basis of persuasion in group decision-making contexts and supporting the power-responsibility hypothesis.
合伙投资是一种常见的商业形式，其中投资者拥有不同程度的权力，需要相互说服以达成共识。本研究调查了合伙投资中决策权对说服性沟通产生影响的神经机制，旨在提供神经学证据来检验两种相互竞争的假设：权力-责任假设和权力-过度自信假设。我们使用功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS），记录了说服者-接收者二元组在进行合伙投资任务时的大脑活动。行为结果表明，当接收者拥有主导决策权时，他们的决策更容易受到说服者说服性信息的影响。在神经层面，接收者左右颞顶联合区（lTPJ和rTPJ）之间的功能连接（FC）因其决策权而显著增加。此外，我们识别出四对人际神经同步（INS），当说服者使用数字说服而非非数字说服时，这四对INS表现出显著增强：lTPJ-rTPJ、左颞上回（lSTG）-rTPJ、左颞中回（lMTG）-rTPJ和内侧前额叶皮质（mPFC）-lTPJ。决策权放大了后三对INS的差异。此外，使用支持向量机（SVM）算法，当接收者拥有主导决策权时，INS能够准确预测他们对说服性信息的采纳情况。最后，我们发现lTPJ-rTPJ处的FC和lSTG-rTPJ处 的INS也与接收者对说服性信息的采纳呈正相关。我们的研究阐明了决策权如何改变个体在合伙投资中处理说服性信息的方式，为群体决策背景下说服的神经基础提供了见解，并支持了权力-责任假设。
