BACKGROUND Recent work on cognitive-behavioural models of obsessive-compulsive disorder has focused on the roles played by various aspects of self-perception. In particular, moral self-ambivalence has been found to be associated with obsessive-compulsive phenomena. AIMS In this study we used an experimental task to investigate whether artificially priming moral self-ambivalence would increase...

A substantial body of evidence indicates that utilitarian judgments (favoring the greater good) made in response to difficult moral dilemmas are preferentially supported by controlled, reflective processes, whereas deontological judgments (favoring rights/duties) in such cases are preferentially supported by automatic, intuitive processes. A recent neuroimaging study by Kahane et al. challenges...

This study examines the moral and ethical aspects of creating savior siblings using Kant’s moral-philosophical theory and Beauchamp and Childress’s (B&C) principles of medical ethics. In this study, the researchers argue that three of the four clusters of the principles of B&C framework are derived from common morality and Kant’s ethics. Besides, the second part of this article is designed as a...

Moral attentiveness is a useful concept to investigate ethical decision-making and explain individual differences in the amount of attention paid to moral aspects of life. Although cultural influences on ethics have been documented, little is known about the affect of culture on moral attentiveness. Using a theoretical framework based on Hofstede’s typology and social cognition theory and a res...

A substantial body of evidence indicates that utilitarian judgments (favoring the greater good) made in response to difficult moral dilemmas are preferentially supported by controlled, reflective processes, whereas deontological judgments (favoring rights/duties) in such cases are preferentially supported by automatic, intuitive processes. A recent neuroimaging study by Kahane et al. challenges...

Information technology may be able to help people become better ethical decision makers. This paper explores philosophical and psychological issues underlying the design of a moral dilemma support system (MDSS). The effects of schemas, decision strategies, social information, and emotions on dilemma analysis are considered. MDSS features that would help people understand moral dilemmas, choose ...

Moral behavior has been a key topic of debate for philosophy and psychology for a long time. In recent years, thanks to the development of novel methodologies in cognitive sciences, the question of how we make moral choices has expanded to the study of neurobiological correlates that subtend the mental processes involved in moral behavior. For instance, in vivo brain imaging studies have shown ...