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Dopamine, religiosity, and utilitarian moral judgment.

Dana Mueller1,2, Kameko Halfmann2

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

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|August 30, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Religiosity negatively predicts utilitarian moral judgments in high-conflict personal dilemmas. Dopamine levels did not significantly influence utilitarian decision-making in this study.

Keywords:
Dopamineeyeblink ratejudgmentmoralityreligiosityutilitarian

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Moral Psychology
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Utilitarian moral judgments prioritize outcomes over social norms.
  • Biological and sociocultural factors may influence moral decision-making.
  • Dopamine and religiosity are hypothesized predictors of utilitarian judgments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between dopamine levels and utilitarian moral judgment.
  • To examine the association between religiosity and utilitarian moral judgment.
  • To understand factors influencing utilitarian moral decision-making for AI development.

Main Methods:

  • Measured dopamine via spontaneous eyeblink rate (indirect measure of dopaminergic transmission).
  • Assessed religiosity using a questionnaire.
  • Participants completed a moral judgment task involving various dilemmas (nonmoral, impersonal, personal low-conflict, personal high-conflict).

Main Results:

  • A significant negative relationship was found between religiosity and utilitarian judgments in high-conflict personal dilemmas.
  • No significant relationship was observed between dopamine levels and utilitarian moral judgment.
  • The hypothesis regarding dopamine's effect on utilitarian decisions was not supported.

Conclusions:

  • Religiosity is a significant sociocultural factor associated with reduced utilitarian moral judgment in challenging personal situations.
  • Biological factors, specifically dopamine levels as measured, did not predict utilitarian moral judgment in this study.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complex interplay of biological and sociocultural influences on moral decision-making.