Nonlinear associations between human values and neuroanatomy

Zacharopoulus, G.; Hanel, P.H.P.; Lancaster, T.M.; Ihssen, N.; Drakesmith, M.; Foley, S.; Maio, G.R.; Linden, D.E.J.

Abstract

Human values guide behavior and the smooth functioning of societies. Schwartz’s circumplex model of values predicts a sinusoidal waveform in relations between ratings of the importance of diverse human value types (e.g., achievement, benevolence) and any variables psychologically relevant to them. In this neuroimaging study, we examined these nonlinear associations between values types and brain structure. In 85 participants, we found the predicted sinusoidal relationship between ratings of values types and two measures of white matter (WM), volume and myelin volume fraction, as well as for grey matter (GM) parameters in several frontal regions. These effects reveal new functional associations for structural brain parameters and provide a novel cross-validation of Schwartz’s model. Moreover, the sinusoidal waveform test can be applied to other circumplex models in social, affective and cognitive neuroscience.

Citation

Zacharopoulus, G., Hanel, P., Lancaster, T., Ihssen, N., Drakesmith, M., Foley, S., …Linden, D. (2017). Nonlinear associations between human values and neuroanatomy. Social Neuroscience, 12(6), 673-684. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2016.1229215

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 16, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Sep 21, 2016
• Publication Date: Nov 2, 2017
• Deposit Date: Nov 17, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 21, 2017
• Journal: Social Neuroscience
• Print ISSN: 1747-0919
• Electronic ISSN: 1747-0927
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 673-684
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2016.1229215
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1370099