Social cognitive functioning relates to willingness to pay for social experiences

Abstract Human behavior is driven by a fundamental need for social connection, which requires the ability to assign subjective value to social experiences. Although social resources such as perceived social support and socio-affective traits are known to impact physical and mental well-being, their specific role in shaping social valuation remains unclear. In the present study, we employed a willingness-to-pay (WTP) paradigm to quantify the subjective value of social versus non-social experiences and examined how this valuation relates to individual differences in social functioning. Participants, on average, showed a preference for social experiences and were willing to pay more for them. Greater perceived social support was linked to a higher probability of choosing social options and to spending more money on social experiences overall. In contrast, individuals endorsing higher levels of autistic traits were less likely to choose social options and spent less on them. A principal components analysis identified three principal components reflecting: (1) social dysfunction, (2) empathy and social motives, and (3) pandemic-related effects. Regression analyses revealed that social dysfunction was negatively associated with social choice, whereas pandemic related effects were positively associated with social choice. Taken together, our findings highlight the significance of individual differences in shaping social valuation, with implications into further understanding variability in social motivation and socio-affective function across populations.