La teoria dei sistemi motivazionali interpersonali: un'analisi del sistema cooperativo ed i suoi correlati biologici

Throughout history, few topics have received so much attention as the subject of human cooperation “The process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit”, the “How” and “Why” it develops, what kind of relationships allows to exist, and how these intersocial relations change when cooperation is hindered. History, sociology, philosophy and lately psychology have sustainably attempted to define some core aspects of prosocial attitudes toward other individuals, having highlighted the widespread connections that cooperation has with the very ground foundations of stable human societies. We’ll look into detail at the core biological foundations of prosocial attitudes, adding research findings from cognitive psychology and neuroimaging data regarding intersocial abilities and cooperative attitude. Since the complexity of the phenomenon, an exhaustive analysis is almost impossible; nonetheless, we’ll try to highlight some interesting connections between different fields, highlighting theoretical bridges and relevant data. We’ll see how apparently distinct domains support each other in describing the complexity of cooperation as a fluid social ability, built throughout individual lifespan, and composed by enormously diverse evolutionary prerequisites. In the first section, a cognitive-clinical approach will be provided by the attachment theory and a subsequent evolution, the “Teoria dei sistemi motivazionali interpersonali” (translated as Multi-motivational Evolutionary theory; Cortina, Liotti 2014) of Giovanni Liotti, an attempt to define a hierarchical structure between motivational systems (including cooperation) based on evolutionary history. Then in the second section the thesis will describe some of the core concept in the field of biological analysis of cooperation: evolutionary spread, cognitive strategies and prerequisites, parental style. Finally, in the third section, a summary of the main neuroimaging data regarding the cooperation topic will be provided, with evidence pointing toward the pivotal role of frontal regions and limbic systems, and the fundamental role that empathy plays in mediating cooperative behaviour instead of hostile aggression.