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Moral Judgments Are (Most Probably) Robust to Physical Fatigue
Michal Mikolaj Stefanczyk1,2, Grzegorz Żurek3, Artur Macyszyn4
1Being Human Lab, Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Poland.
Experimental Psychology
|April 23, 2025
Summary
Physical fatigue does not significantly impact moral decision-making. Moral judgments appear resilient to physical exertion, unlike cognitive fatigue effects.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Cognitive fatigue is known to impair decision-making.
- The impact of physical fatigue on moral judgment is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of acute physical fatigue on moral decision-making.
- To determine if moral judgments are resilient to physical exertion.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments with 303 participants were conducted.
- Participants underwent acute physical exercise, with moral dilemmas presented either before or after exercise.
- Moral judgment was assessed using the Process Dissociation procedure, measuring sacrificial dilemma decisions and deontological/utilitarian inclinations.
Main Results:
- Nine out of 10 statistical tests revealed no significant differences in moral judgments between fatigued and non-fatigued groups.
- This indicates a lack of substantial impact of physical fatigue on moral decision-making.
Conclusions:
- Moral judgments demonstrate a unique resilience to physical fatigue.
- Findings contrast with existing research on cognitive fatigue's effects on decision-making.
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