The internal signals of the body help to know social expectationsso that, when there is a moral dilemma, people make socially accepted decisions.
Korean neuroscientists have published the results of a study in JNeurosciin which they offer empirical data on how interoception – capital to understand the physical variations of the organism – positively influences decision making in order to reduce the possibility of having some conflict.
The brain reduces energy expenditure and improves survival by learning social expectations and avoiding conflicts
“Our brains are designed to minimize the consumption of body resources and improve survival by learning the expectations of others and the reduction of social conflicts,” he tells sync Who is hackjin, Co -author of the study and scientific at the university of Korea.
When people act against what most often think of quarrels and the body loses energy, according to this researcher. In this way, interoception is an “adaptive strategy that serves as a mechanism for survival in community ”.
An adaptive response
People have a series of Social norms and expectations – the so -called sense of duty – to overcome an environment that is unpredictable and save metabolic energy when they socialize.
In fact, individuals value that deontological decisionsthat is, those that are based on the fulfillment of duties and obligations, are socially better accepted than others such as those based on utility.
The brain continually detects and corrects prediction errors in social interactions throughout life
The role of interoception is essential at this point, because it offers information about the internal state of the organismand helps reduce differences between real bodily states and predictable.
In this way, this own ability would allow predicting with greater precision and adjust social behavior with the social environment.
“To predict exactly the expectations of others and act accordingly is essential to establish harmonious social relationswhich in turn creates environments conducive to survival, ”says Kim.
In addition, he argues that the brain continually detects and corrects prediction errors in social relations throughout life, so, over time, these processes become better.
Heart rate count
To understand how this internal capacity influences decision making, the researchers conducted two independent experiments with Korean university students without them knowing the opinions of the rest.
They evaluated their interoceptive sensitivity through a self -report, they were asked to account for their heartbeat and made a magnetic resonance to observe how the behaved of the brain neurons related to internal perception and decision making.
The individuals most sensitive to their body signs tended to issue moral judgments more in line with the group’s preferences
Hackjin Kim (University of Korea)
“The results showed that the individuals most sensitive to their body signals tended to issue moral judgments More chords with the group’s preferences when they read Moral Dilemmas stages, ”says Kim.
This trend was also observed in the brain responses of the resonance. “People with the greatest interoceptive sensitivity showed a greater functional connectivity Between components of the brain networks involved in internal care and awareness of the environment during rest periods, ”says the researcher.
Anxiety and interoception
In this study, scientists also pointed out the relationship between the sensitivity to body signals with feelings such as anxietyAlthough they warn that their correlation is still clear.
People who tend to negatively interpret bodily sensations may experience an increase in anxious episodes
“Recently, it has been seen that anxiety levels may vary not so much depending on the interoceptive sensitivitybut how the body’s signals are interpreted, ”answers the co -author of this investigation to SINCAS.
In their opinion, people who tend to negatively interpret bodily sensations may experience an increase in anxious episodes. “Individuals who are highly sensitive to bodily signals but who have difficulty recognizing and expressing Emotions They are more likely to interpret these signs negatively, ”he concludes.
Thus, body consciousness is diversified at multiple hierarchical levels and by the differences between individuals ranging from their ability to perceive signals to their interpretation.
Reference:
Juyoung Kim. et al. Neural Processes Linking Interoception to Moral Preferences Aligned with Group Consensus. JNeurosci. 2025
