Would you think that a person would be happy to receive fairness as a reward? You may just be surprised. According to a recent UCLA study, the brain responds to fairness in pretty much the same way that it would respond to money or chocolate - with delight.

Matthew D. Lieberman and Golnaz Tabibnia are the authors of this research. They asked a group of 12 UCLA students whether the latter would agree or refuse to accept money divided in a particular way. Some of the offers were fair (E.g. receiving US$ 5 out of US $10) while others were unfair (E.g. receiving US$ 5 out of US$ 23.)

Lieberman and Tabibnia then scanned the participants' brains. The scientists discovered that the portions of the brain known as the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex were activated in those who accepted the fair offers.

Tabibnia and Lieberman mentioned that humans share these same parts of the brain with mice, monkeys and rats. It's the same portion of the brain that is activated when people eat craved food (like chocolate), or when they win money or see a beautiful face. The implication, according to Lieberman, is that "We may be hard-wired to treat fairness as a reward."