Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Kohlberg's theory of moral development uses the Heinz dilemma — a thought experiment in which a man, Heinz, must decide whether to steal an unaffordable drug to save his dying wife — to illustrate the evolution of moral reasoning. This framework, divided into three levels with two stages, highlights how individuals' understanding of right and wrong becomes increasingly complex.
Pre-Conventional Level
At the pre-conventional level, morality is primarily driven by personal...

Decision Making: Traditional Method

Decision Making: Traditional Method

The process of hypothesis testing based on the traditional method includes calculating the critical value, testing the value of the test statistic using the sample data, and interpreting these values.
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...

Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Cognitive psychologist Richard Lazarus proposed the cognitive-mediational theory of emotions, which emphasizes how individuals' assessments of stressors significantly affect their experience of stress. According to Lazarus, the stress response is determined by a two-step appraisal process: primary appraisal and secondary appraisal. These cognitive appraisals help individuals evaluate the potential impact of a stressor and determine the adequacy of their coping resources.
Primary Appraisal:...

Attribution Theory

Attribution Theory

Behavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958).

Reason and Intuition

Reason and Intuition

The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the...

Decision Making

Decision Making

Decision-making is a fundamental cognitive process that involves evaluating alternatives and selecting among them. This process can range from simple choices, such as deciding what to wear, to complex decisions, like choosing a major in college or a career path. The complexity of the decision often dictates the approach we use, which can be broadly categorized into two types: automatic and controlled decision-making.
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Dimensions of identity-representing belief.

Cognition·2025

Same author

The Shape of Blame: The Relationship Between Statistical Norms and Judgments of Blame and Praise.

Cognitive science·2025

Same author

No privileged link between intentionality and causation: Generalizable effects of agency in language.

Cognition·2025

Same author

The development of the "first thing that comes to mind".

Developmental psychology·2025

Same author

Sad Art Gives Voice to Our Own Sadness.

Cognitive science·2025

Same author

From artifacts to human lives: Investigating the domain-generality of judgments about purposes.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2025

Same journal

Limits to Language Prediction: Findings From Diverse Populations.

Topics in cognitive science·2026

Same journal

There Is More Than Meets the Eye: The Dual Role of Perception in Shaping Color Lexicons.

Topics in cognitive science·2026

Same journal

Inference and Imagination.

Topics in cognitive science·2026

Same journal

Gesture Use Across Different Concepts: Focusing on Cross-Linguistic Diversity.

Topics in cognitive science·2026

Same journal

Exploring Amazonian Cognitive Diversity at Chana Research Station.

Topics in cognitive science·2026

Same journal

Do (We Think That) Plants Have Agency?

Topics in cognitive science·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 25, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

Action trees and moral judgment.

¹Program in Cognitive Science and Department of Philosophy, Yale University.

Topics in Cognitive Science

|August 29, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

People

Keywords:

Action trees Moral cognition Moral grammar Moral judgment

More Related Videos

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task

Published on: July 22, 2025

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Published on: March 4, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 25, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task

Published on: July 22, 2025

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Published on: March 4, 2022

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Moral Psychology
Decision-Making

Background:

The structure of action is often conceptualized as an action tree.
The relationship between action representation and moral judgment is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the interplay between action tree representations and moral judgments.
To challenge the assumption that action representations solely precede moral judgments.

Main Methods:

A series of experimental studies were conducted.
Participants' moral judgments were assessed in relation to action structures.

Main Results:

Findings suggest that moral judgments can influence the construction of action tree representations.
This indicates a bidirectional relationship rather than a unidirectional one.

Conclusions:

Moral judgments are not merely a consequence of pre-existing action representations.
Action representations are dynamically shaped by moral considerations.