People typically evaluate the preferences of both themselves and others before making decisions in moral dilemmas. Researchers have theorized how people face moral dilemmas, but experimental data is lacking. In a new JNeurosci paper, JuYoung Kim and Hackjin Kim at Korea University provide what they claim is the first experimental data to address the question of how people face moral dilemmas.
The researchers assessed study participants' awareness of their own bodily signals and how closely they aligned with unknown group moral preferences in different scenarios. Awareness of internal states was measured using self-reports and self-evaluations of heartbeats. Group consensus was measured by the number of participants selecting the same ethical option across various scenarios. The researchers found a link between internal bodily awareness and making decisions that aligned with the group consensus. This link was mediated by brain activity states during rest that featured activity in brain regions associated with self-referential processing and internal attention. Thus, according to the authors, this newfound link between internal state sensitivity and moral alignment may influence the moral intuitions a person develops as they learn the moral expectations of others.
