HSRP-395

Competing as part of a group rather than alone reduces the medial prefrontal self-referential response to one's own moral conduct, and greater reduction is associated with greater willingness to harm competitors.

Proof page — generated from the HSRP research notes register. Where a block has no data, it says so.

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1. Header

Number: HSRP-395
Category: Neuroscience
Grade: PROBABLE
Status: ACTIVE
Entry form: Full
First entered: Not recorded — added to the register in supplement 022
Last revised: Not recorded
Register entry: https://worldfreedomcore.com/hsrp-research-notes#HSRP-395

2. The claim, in full

Competing as part of a group rather than alone reduces the medial prefrontal self-referential response to one's own moral conduct, and greater reduction is associated with greater willingness to harm competitors.

3. What it rests on

Not yet recorded for this observation.

4. Sources

SRC-627 · PRIORITY · Reduced self-referential neural response during intergroup competition predicts competitor harm — Cikara, Jenkins, Dufour & Saxe, NeuroImage 96:36–43 (2014)
Pinpoint: not recorded · Access: Access status not recorded

DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.03.080. Cited for the association between the size of the reduction in medial prefrontal self-referential response and willingness to harm competitors. The study reports an association, not a causal path.

5. Counter-evidence

No counter-evidence is recorded in the register for this observation as of 2026-10-13. No search for counter-evidence has been recorded for this observation.

6. Why this grade

The argument for this grade has not yet been recorded for this observation.

The register defines PROBABLE as: Well supported, but an interpretation or connection across sources rather than something a source states directly.

7. Correction history

No correction events are recorded. The entry's status is ACTIVE: no later entry amends, supersedes or withdraws it.

8. Related observations

HSRP-394 · PROBABLE · Harming another on an authority's order rather than by free choice reduces the rated pain of an identical shock and felt responsibility. It also reduces neural activity associated with witnessing the victim's pain (anterior cingulate, insula/inferior frontal gyrus, temporo-parietal junction, middle temporal gyrus, dorsal striatum) and a neural guilt signature. No causal path from the reduced response to the harm has been shown.
Relation: not recorded

9. Where this appears on the site

Content pages that cite this observation inline:

The Programmable Hive Mind
“When people competed as part of a group rather than alone, a region of medial prefrontal cortex associated with thinking about oneself responded less to descriptions of their own moral conduct, and those whose response dropped more were more willing to harm their competitors (Cikara, Jenkins, Dufour & Saxe, NeuroImage 96:36–43, 2014).”
The Programmable Hive Mind
“A dulled self-referential response to a rival group predicts willingness to harm it; both findings are in-the-moment states, not formed traits — PROBABLE”

Pages citing a source this observation rests on: /the-hive-mind.

10. Open questions

Not yet recorded for this observation.

11. Machine block

The register record this page was generated from, with the derived fields added:

{
  "grade": "PROBABLE",
  "status": "ACTIVE",
  "category": "NEU",
  "title": "Competing as part of a group rather than alone reduces the medial prefrontal self-referential response to one's own moral conduct, and greater reduction is associated with greater willingness to harm competitors.",
  "entry_form": "full",
  "note": null,
  "n": 395,
  "ref": "HSRP-395",
  "cited_by": [
    "SRC-627"
  ],
  "related": [
    "HSRP-394"
  ],
  "category_name": "Neuroscience",
  "supplement": "022",
  "appearances": [
    "/the-hive-mind",
    "/the-hive-mind"
  ],
  "missing_fields": [
    "entered",
    "revised",
    "evidence",
    "pinpoint for SRC-627",
    "counter_evidence",
    "grade_rationale",
    "history",
    "relation to HSRP-394",
    "open_questions"
  ]
}

https://worldfreedomcore.com/hsrp-research-notes.json

Generated from hsrp-research-notes.json (register generated 2026-10-13). Nothing on this page is written by hand. 9 fields not yet recorded.