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Using conflict negativity to index psychological tension between impartiality and status-upholding principles
Jason E Plaks1, Jianing Lv1, Mingjun Zhao1
1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Social Neuroscience
|July 7, 2021
Summary
Moral decisions conflict with valuing all lives equally. Brain activity showed more conflict when sacrificing high-status individuals for low-status ones, especially for deontologists.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Moral Psychology
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Societal norms often uphold the equal value of all human lives.
- However, individuals frequently exhibit bias favoring high-status persons over low-status ones.
- This creates a conflict in moral decision-making scenarios.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how social status influences moral decision-making.
- To examine the neural correlates of moral conflict, specifically conflict negativity (CN).
- To differentiate responses based on deontological versus utilitarian moral principles.
Main Methods:
- Participants evaluated sacrificial dilemmas with varied victim and beneficiary social statuses.
- Key metrics included choice (sacrifice vs. not sacrifice), response time, and electroencephalographic (EEG) activity.
- Focus was placed on analyzing conflict negativity (CN) as an indicator of cognitive conflict.
Main Results:
- No significant effects of social status on participants' choices or response times were observed.
- A more pronounced conflict negativity (CN) effect emerged when participants considered sacrificing a high-status victim for low-status beneficiaries.
- This CN difference was primarily evident in participants endorsing deontological principles, not utilitarian ones.
Conclusions:
- Moral decision-making involves complex interplay between principles of equality and status-based biases.
- Neural conflict signals (CN) are sensitive to status trade-offs, particularly for deontological individuals.
- Findings illuminate the cognitive processes underlying moral conflict and the influence of ethical frameworks on decision-making.
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