文化价值观是一种特殊货币形式

金钱是一种经人们约定的用来测量商品价值的独特测量工具。同样地, 文化价值也是能让人对自身价值做出一致评价的一种独特的测量工具。本文在综述有关研究的基础上提出一个观点：文化价值和金钱价值在人类的发展史上、神经机制、行为以及认知方面是重叠的。作者认为, 文化价值和货币都是基于类似的进化功能而产生的。其次, 当进行与社会价值观一致的活动(如捐赠和合作)时, 其行为所激活的脑区和获得金钱时所激活的脑区是相同的。同样地, 当进行违反社会价值观的活动(如欺骗和攻击)时, 其行为所激活的脑区和失去金钱所激活的脑区是相同的。第三, 相对于亲社会行为和获得金钱, 我们对社会背叛和失去金钱会更敏感(如厌恶损失)。第四, 全球化对金钱体系和价值体系的影响是相似的。

Cultural Value as a Form of Currency

As a utility scale, money enables people to consensually determine values of material goods. Likewise, as another utility scale, cultural value allows people to consensually determine their own values. Here we propose that cultural value and monetary value overlap in the evolutionary functions, neurological correlates, behaviors, and cognitions of humans. In this review, we suggest that (i) cultural value and currency originate to serve similar evolutionary functions;(ii) behaviors that are consistent with social values (e.g., donation and cooperation) are represented in the same brain regions as monetary gain, while violations of social values (e.g., deception and aggression) are represented in the same brain regions as monetary loss;(iii) compared with prosocial behaviors and monetary gain, people are more sensitive to social transgressions as well as monetary loss (i.e., loss aversion);and (iv) globalization has similar effects on monetary systems as well as on value systems.