Stress is a crucial factor affecting social decision-making. However, its impacts on the behavioral and neural processes of females’ unfairness decision-making remain unclear. Combining computational modeling and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), this study attempted to illuminate the neurocomputational signature of unfairness decision-making in females. We also considered the effect of trait stress coping styles. Forty-four healthy young females (20.98 ± 2.89 years) were randomly assigned to the stress group ( = 21) and the control group ( = 23). Acute psychosocial stress was induced by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and participants then completed the one-shot ultimatum game (UG) as responders. The results showed that acute psychosocial stress reduced the adaptability to fairness and lead to more random decision-making responses. Moreover, in the stress group, a high level of negative coping style predicted more deterministic decision. fNIRS results showed that stress led to an increase of oxy-hemoglobin (HbO) peak in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), while decreased the activation of left middle temporal gyrus (lMTG) when presented the moderately unfair (MU) offers. This signified more involvement of the mentalization and the inhibition of moral processing. Moreover, individuals with higher negative coping scores showed more deterministic decision behaviors under stress. Taken together, our study emphasizes the role of acute psychosocial stress in affecting females’ unfairness decision-making mechanisms in social interactions, and provides evidences for the “tend and befriend” pattern based on a cognitive neuroscience perspective.

中文翻译：

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女性在严重心理压力下做出不公平报价决策的神经计算特征

压力是影响社会决策的重要因素。然而，它对女性不公平决策的行为和神经过程的影响仍不清楚。这项研究结合计算模型和功能近红外光谱（fNIRS），试图阐明女性不公平决策的神经计算特征。我们还考虑了特质压力应对方式的影响。 44 名健康年轻女性（20.98 ± 2.89 岁）被随机分配到压力组 ( = 21 ) 和对照组 ( = 23 )。特里尔社会压力测试（TSST）诱发急性社会心理压力，然后参与者作为响应者完成一击最后通牒游戏（UG）。结果表明，严重的社会心理压力会降低对公平的适应能力，并导致决策反应更加随机。此外，在压力组中，高度消极的应对方式预示着更加确定性的决策。 fNIRS 结果显示，当出现中度不公平 (MU) 条件时，压力导致右侧颞顶交界处 (rTPJ) 的氧合血红蛋白 (HbO) 峰值增加，同时降低左侧颞中回 (lMTG) 的激活。这意味着更多的心理化参与和道德处理的抑制。此外，消极应对得分较高的个体在压力下表现出更具确定性的决策行为。综上所述，我们的研究强调了急性社会心理压力对女性社交互动中不公平决策机制的影响，并为基于认知神经科学视角的“照顾和交友”模式提供了证据。