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Showing off in public 'hardwired into brain'

Last Updated 04 May 2018, 03:13 IST

Researchers from the University of Southern California have found that people who show-off in public, taking wild risks they would never dream of taking when on their own, are driven to do so by their brain chemistry.

They believe they have proved that nature, not nurture, is what drives some people to take stupid chances in social situations, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

The study found that the striatum, which forms part of the brain's reward centre, and the medial prefrontal cortex, which effects one's reasoning, become more far active when one is among one's peers.

Georgio Coricelli, who led the study, said: "These findings suggest that the brain is equipped with the ability to detect and encode social signals, make social signals salienty, and then use these signals."

In the study, subjects were entered into lotteries and were found to display far higher brain activity in these regions when they beat a peer compared to when they simply won alone.

The participants who won within a social setting then went on to take greater risks, displaying more competitive behaviour in the following lotteries.

The researchers believe that in group environments there tends to be a winner-takes-all mentality, with sexual competition being the most clear example.

He added: "Among animals, there are strong incentives for wanting to be at the top of the social ranking. Animals in the dominant position used their status to secure privileged access to resources, such as food and mates."

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(Published 08 September 2011, 06:54 IST)

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