Neural correlates of undiscovered dishonesty: an fMRI and ERP study

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Previous neuroimaging studies on dishonesty focused on the process of cognitive manipulation. Here we investigated the neural responses during outcome presentation, especially when the dishonest persons get the information that they have successfully avoided detection. METHODS: Twenty-six Chinese volunteers were recruited. They were asked to interact with anonymous counterparts in an economic game. They could appropriate the property belonging to another by utilizing another’s ignorance of the truth. That is, they could behave consistently (making honest choices) or inconsistently (making dishonest choices) with the counterparts’ proposals on how to divide some profits. The counterparts had 50% chance to detect whether the participants’ choices were dishonest. Successful dishonest choices (not being …