-
The Journal of Neuroscience : the... Feb 2021Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by a core difference in theory-of-mind (ToM) ability, which extends to alterations in moral judgment and decision-making....
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by a core difference in theory-of-mind (ToM) ability, which extends to alterations in moral judgment and decision-making. Although the function of the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), a key neural marker of ToM and morality, is known to be atypical in autistic individuals, the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying its specific changes in moral decision-making remain unclear. Here, we addressed this question by using a novel fMRI task together with computational modeling and representational similarity analysis (RSA). ASD participants and healthy control subjects (HCs) decided in public or private whether to incur a personal cost for funding a morally good cause (Good Context) or receive a personal gain for benefiting a morally bad cause (Bad Context). Compared with HC, individuals with ASD were much more likely to reject the opportunity to earn ill gotten money by supporting a bad cause than were HCs. Computational modeling revealed that this resulted from heavily weighing benefits for themselves and the bad cause, suggesting that ASD participants apply a rule of refusing to serve a bad cause because they evaluate the negative consequences of their actions more severely. Moreover, RSA revealed a reduced rTPJ representation of the information specific to moral contexts in ASD participants. Together, these findings indicate the contribution of rTPJ in representing information concerning moral rules and provide new insights for the neurobiological basis underpinning moral behaviors illustrated by a specific difference of rTPJ in ASD participants. Previous investigations have found an altered pattern of moral behaviors in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is closely associated with functional changes in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ). However, the specific neurocomputational mechanisms at play that drive the altered function of the rTPJ in moral decision-making remain unclear. Here, we show that ASD individuals are more inflexible when following a moral rule although an immoral action can benefit themselves, and experience an increased concern about their ill-gotten gains and the moral cost. Moreover, a selectively reduced rTPJ representation of information concerning moral rules was observed in ASD participants. These findings deepen our understanding of the neurobiological roots that underlie atypical moral behaviors in ASD individuals.
Topics: Adolescent; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Brain; Computer Simulation; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Judgment; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Morals; Theory of Mind; Young Adult
PubMed: 33158960
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1237-20.2020 -
Nursing Philosophy : An International... Jul 2022Person-centred care is founded on ethics as a basis for organizing care. In spite of healthcare systems claiming that they have implemented person-centred care, patients... (Review)
Review
Person-centred care is founded on ethics as a basis for organizing care. In spite of healthcare systems claiming that they have implemented person-centred care, patients report less satisfaction with care. These contrasting results require clarification of how to practice person-centred ethics using Paul Ricoeur's 'Little ethics', summarized as: 'aiming for the good life, with and for others in just institutions'. In this ethic Kantian morality is at once subordinate and complementary to Aristotelian ethics because the ethical goal needs to be critically assessed and passed through the examination of the norm in each care situation. This paper presents examples that describes a person-centred care practice that balance a critical review of care activities based on a conviction of aiming for patients' wellbeing. In contrast to patients' experiences of person-centred care in real life, research projects have shown that if the clinical performers comprehend and apply the practice of person-centred ethics, patients report positive outcomes. The implementation of person-centred care therefore demands that stakeholders and managers enables and requires that healthcare staff study ethics in the same way as studying for example pharmacology is required when handling patients' medicines.
Topics: Delivery of Health Care; Humans; Moral Obligations; Morals; Palliative Care; Patient-Centered Care
PubMed: 35213781
DOI: 10.1111/nup.12382 -
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Dec 2016Findings in the field of experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience have shed new light on our understanding of the psychological and biological bases of... (Review)
Review
Findings in the field of experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience have shed new light on our understanding of the psychological and biological bases of morality. Although a lot of attention has been devoted to understanding the processes that underlie complex moral dilemmas, attempts to represent the way in which individuals generate moral judgments when processing basic harmful actions are rare. Here, we will outline a model of morality which proposes that the evaluation of basic harmful actions relies on complex interactions between emotional arousal, Theory of Mind (ToM) capacities, and inhibitory control resources. This model makes clear predictions regarding the cognitive processes underlying the development of and ability to generate moral judgments. We draw on data from developmental and cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and psychopathology research to evaluate the model and propose several conceptual and methodological improvements that are needed to further advance our understanding of moral cognition and its development.
Topics: Arousal; Emotions; Executive Function; Humans; Inhibition, Psychological; Morals; Social Perception; Theory of Mind; Thinking
PubMed: 27169411
DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1042-5 -
BMC Medical Ethics Sep 2014The debate on the ethical aspects of moral bioenhancement focuses on the desirability of using biomedical as opposed to traditional means to achieve moral betterment.... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The debate on the ethical aspects of moral bioenhancement focuses on the desirability of using biomedical as opposed to traditional means to achieve moral betterment. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the ethical reasons presented in the literature for and against moral bioenhancement.
DISCUSSION
A review was performed and resulted in the inclusion of 85 articles. We classified the arguments used in those articles in the following six clusters: (1) why we (don't) need moral bioenhancement, (2) it will (not) be possible to reach consensus on what moral bioenhancement should involve, (3) the feasibility of moral bioenhancement and the status of current scientific research, (4) means and processes of arriving at moral improvement matter ethically, (5) arguments related to the freedom, identity and autonomy of the individual, and (6) arguments related to social/group effects and dynamics. We discuss each argument separately, and assess the debate as a whole. First, there is little discussion on what distinguishes moral bioenhancement from treatment of pathological deficiencies in morality. Furthermore, remarkably little attention has been paid so far to the safety, risks and side-effects of moral enhancement, including the risk of identity changes. Finally, many authors overestimate the scientific as well as the practical feasibility of the interventions they discuss, rendering the debate too speculative.
SUMMARY
Based on our discussion of the arguments used in the debate on moral enhancement, and our assessment of this debate, we advocate a shift in focus. Instead of speculating about non-realistic hypothetical scenarios such as the genetic engineering of morality, or morally enhancing 'the whole of humanity', we call for a more focused debate on realistic options of biomedical treatment of moral pathologies and the concrete moral questions these treatments raise.
Topics: Biomedical Enhancement; Ethical Analysis; Ethical Theory; Humans; Moral Development; Motivation; Personal Autonomy; Social Behavior; Social Identification; Social Values
PubMed: 25227512
DOI: 10.1186/1472-6939-15-67 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Oct 2020Most of the empirical research on sex differences and cultural variations in morality has relied on within-culture analyses or small-scale cross-cultural data. To...
Most of the empirical research on sex differences and cultural variations in morality has relied on within-culture analyses or small-scale cross-cultural data. To further broaden the scientific understanding of sex differences in morality, the current research relies on two international samples to provide the first large-scale examination of sex differences in moral judgements nested within cultures. Using a sample from 67 countries (Study 1; = 336 691), we found culturally variable sex differences in moral judgements, as conceptualized by Moral Foundations Theory. Women consistently scored higher than men on Care, Fairness, and Purity. By contrast, sex differences in Loyalty and Authority were negligible and highly variable across cultures. Country-level sex differences in moral judgements were also examined in relation to cultural, socioeconomic, and gender-equality indicators revealing that sex differences in moral judgements are larger in individualist, Western, and gender-equal societies. In Study 2 (19 countries; = 11 969), these results were largely replicated using Bayesian multi-level modelling in a distinct sample. The findings were robust when incorporating cultural non-independence of countries into the models. Specifically, women consistently showed higher concerns for Care, Fairness, and Purity in their moral judgements than did men. Sex differences in moral judgements were larger in individualist and gender-equal societies with more flexible social norms. We discuss the implications of these findings for the ongoing debate about the origin of sex differences and cultural variations in moral judgements as well as theoretical and pragmatic implications for moral and evolutionary psychology.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Female; Humans; Individuality; Judgment; Male; Morals; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 33081618
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1201 -
Journal of Medical Ethics Dec 1983
Topics: Beginning of Human Life; Ethical Analysis; Ethics, Medical; Fertilization in Vitro; Humans; Life; Moral Obligations; Morals; Personhood; Religion and Medicine
PubMed: 6668582
DOI: 10.1136/jme.9.4.187 -
European Journal of Psychotraumatology 2024: Healthcare workers (HCWs) often experience morally challenging situations in their workplaces that may contribute to job turnover and compromised well-being. This...
: Healthcare workers (HCWs) often experience morally challenging situations in their workplaces that may contribute to job turnover and compromised well-being. This study aimed to characterize the nature and frequency of moral stressors experienced by HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic, examine their influence on psychosocial-spiritual factors, and capture the impact of such factors and related moral stressors on HCWs' self-reported job attrition intentions. A sample of 1204 Canadian HCWs were included in the analysis through a web-based survey platform whereby work-related factors (e.g. years spent working as HCW, providing care to COVID-19 patients), moral distress (captured by MMD-HP), moral injury (captured by MIOS), mental health symptomatology, and job turnover due to moral distress were assessed. Moral stressors with the highest reported frequency and distress ratings included patient care requirements that exceeded the capacity HCWs felt safe/comfortable managing, reported lack of resource availability, and belief that administration was not addressing issues that compromised patient care. Participants who considered leaving their jobs (44%; = 517) demonstrated greater moral distress and injury scores. Logistic regression highlighted burnout (AOR = 1.59; < .001), moral distress (AOR = 1.83; < .001), and moral injury due to trust violation (AOR = 1.30; = .022) as significant predictors of the intention to leave one's job. While it is impossible to fully eliminate moral stressors from healthcare, especially during exceptional and critical scenarios like a global pandemic, it is crucial to recognize the detrimental impacts on HCWs. This underscores the urgent need for additional research to identify protective factors that can mitigate the impact of these stressors.
Topics: Humans; Prevalence; Pandemics; Canada; Morals; COVID-19; Health Personnel
PubMed: 38334695
DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2306102 -
Nursing Open Jul 2023The purpose of this study was to assess the level of moral courage among nurses in China, and to explore related influential factors, to help nursing managers take...
AIM
The purpose of this study was to assess the level of moral courage among nurses in China, and to explore related influential factors, to help nursing managers take measures to improve nurses' moral courage.
DESIGN
A cross-sectional study.
METHODS
The data adopted a convenient sampling method. From September to December 2021, 583 nurses from five hospitals in Fujian Province completed the Chinese version of the Nurses' Moral Courage Scale (NMCS). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, T-test, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis.
RESULTS
The Chinese nurses perceived themselves, on average, as morally courageous. The mean NMCS score was 3.64 ± 0.692. The six factors showed statistically significant correlations (p < 0.05) with moral courage. Regression analysis showed that the main factors influencing nurses' moral courage were active learning of ethics knowledge and nursing was a career goal.
CONCLUSION
This study provides the self-evaluation level and related influencing factors of Chinese nurses' moral courage. There is no doubt that nurses still need strong moral courage to face unknown ethical problems and challenges in the future. Nursing managers should pay attention to the cultivation of nurses' moral courage, using various forms of educational activities to help nurses alleviate moral problems and improve their moral courage, to maintain patients' access to high-quality nursing.
Topics: Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Courage; Ethics, Nursing; Morals; China; Nurses
PubMed: 36811339
DOI: 10.1002/nop2.1672 -
The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics :... 2023When confronted with moral dilemmas related to health, governments frequently turn to "moral experts," such as bioethicists and moral philosophers, for guidance and...
When confronted with moral dilemmas related to health, governments frequently turn to "moral experts," such as bioethicists and moral philosophers, for guidance and advice. They commonly assume that these experts' moral judgments are primarily a product of deliberate reasoning. The article challenges this assumption, arguing that experts' moral judgments may instead be primarily a product of moral intuitions which, often subconsciously, respond to the social setting.
Topics: Humans; Judgment; Morals; Ethicists; Government; Policy Making
PubMed: 37655581
DOI: 10.1017/jme.2023.70 -
BMC Medical Ethics Nov 2020Good quality of care is dependent on nurses' strong clinical skills and moral competencies, as well. While most nurses work with high moral standards, the moral...
INTRODUCTION
Good quality of care is dependent on nurses' strong clinical skills and moral competencies, as well. While most nurses work with high moral standards, the moral performance of some nurses in some organizations shows a deterioration in their moral sensitivity and actions. The study reported in this paper aimed to explore the experiences of nurses regarding negative changes in their moral practice.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a qualitative study utilizing an inductive thematic analysis approach, which was conducted from February 2017 to September 2019. Twenty-five nurses participated in semi-structured interviews.
RESULTS
The main theme that emerged from our analysis was one of moral neutralization in the context of an unethical moral climate. We found five sub-themes, including: (1) feeling discouraged; (2) normalization; (3) giving up; (4) becoming a justifier; and (5) moral indifference.
CONCLUSIONS
Unethical moral climates in health organizations can result in deterioration of morality in nurses which can harm both patients and health systems. Some unethical behaviors in nurses can be explained by this process.
Topics: Attitude of Health Personnel; Clinical Competence; Humans; Morals; Nurses; Qualitative Research; Workplace
PubMed: 33203415
DOI: 10.1186/s12910-020-00558-3