La punizione e la cooperazione in contesti ingroup e outgroup

The tendency of people to punish unfair behavior, even when this behavior does not directly affect them, or the punishment implies a personal cost, has been reported in the literature. Different types of punishment have been identified: altruistic punishment, the punishment of unfair behaviour; parochial altruism, the tendency to use punishment to protect and favor members of one’s group at the expense of members of other groups, even when it involves no personal gain; and anti-social punishment, punishment of loyal or cooperative behaviors which entails a personal cost. Recently, research in neuroscience has focused on how neuronal processes involved in cooperation and punishment behaviors may be modulated across different personal and group membership contexts. Recent studies have investigated not only behavioral differences, but also the neural correlates of punishing unfair behaviors, which may violate the principle of cooperation in certain group contexts. Behavioral studies show how the punishment of unfair behavior occurs in different group settings. Recent research into the neural correlates of punishment shows the recruitment of the reward areas and the gratification system, suggesting these play a central role in motivation and gratification for punishment of unfair behavior

I Teach You to Quarrel - Empathy and Mediation: Tools for Preventing Bullying

Bullying is a very common, complex and important public health problem among school students. Dovigo describes the school as a place where the conflict can emerge among relational dynamics and involve students, teachers and families. Through the description of an Italian pilot project “Mediamente Bullo,” this chapter examines two tools for preventing bullying: empathy, the ability to share and understand emotional states of others, and mediation, useful to cope interpersonal conflicts. Using the mediation tool, students can learn that many forms of conflicts, including violence, can be solved by identifying the causes, discussing them and practicing nonviolent methods and behaviors. This process helps students to become more aware of positive aspects during the conflict and the power that they have in making important and positive choices. In addition, using the empathy tool, they can better understand the experience of social exclusion. In fact, several studies show that children with higher levels of empathy show less aggressive and more prosocial behaviors and they are more able to regulate their emotions. The goal of this chapter is to provide a contribution about integrated application of two important tools, mediation and empathy, in bullying among school-aged youth for future directions and intervention efforts