Moral decision-making in real and sacrificial contexts: a pilot study on social cognition in mild cognitive...

Effective social decision-making requires understanding interpersonal dynamics involving moral content, a process supported by social cognition. When this ability is impaired, as in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), individuals may struggle to act appropriately, reducing social engagement and accelerating decline.The study investigated moral decision-making and social cognition in individuals with MCI and healthy controls (N = 40; 20 per group). Participants completed tasks assessing Theory of Mind (ToM), emotion attribution, social situation understanding, and moral/conventional distinctions. Moral decisions were measured using interactive scenarios (sacrificial, real-life moral, and neutral), recording choices and response times (RTs). Additional measures included cognitive reserve, social engagement, and perceived social isolation.Results showed that individuals with MCI performed significantly worse than controls in identifying normative behaviours, with no group differences in other social cognition domains. Both groups made similar choices in moral decision-making tasks. However, individuals with MCI exhibited longer response times in morally salient scenarios, while no group differences emerged in neutral scenarios. This pattern may tentatively suggest greater processing demands in morally relevant contexts. Additionally, individuals with MCI reported lower levels of cognitive reserve and social engagement.These findings underscore the importance of assessing moral decision-making in clinical populations to support autonomy and social inclusion in ageing.