Week 11 lecture Flashcards
What does morality involve?
Morality involves the right or wrong of social behaviour, and conventional norms, and is culturally specific. It is partly based on harm, inventions, and goals.
What is the difference between harm on purpose and harm that is accidental?
Harm on purpose is intentional, while accidental harm occurs without intention.
What is the utilitarian view of morality?
The utilitarian view of morality focuses only on the outcome of actions, not the intentions behind them.
What are the Trolley and Footbridge dilemmas?
Trolley dilemma: Most people will flip the switch to kill one person to save five.
Footbridge dilemma: Most people will not push someone off a bridge to save five others
How do children and adults differ in moral reasoning?
Kids focus more on outcomes (e.g., breaking 15 glasses vs. one).
Adults focus on intentions (e.g., whether breaking a glass was accidental or intentional).
What is Heinz’s dilemma?
Heinz must decide whether to steal an expensive drug to save his wife. Children tend to say stealing is wrong, while adults understand the complex situation.
What is the difference between moral intuition and moral reasoning?
Moral intuition is emotional and based on feelings of what is right or wrong, while moral reasoning involves cognitive evaluation of the situation.
What areas of the brain are activated in moral-personal dilemmas?
Areas associated with social and emotional cognition, such as the mPFC, posterior cingulate gyrus, TPJ, and angular gyrus.
What areas of the brain are activated in moral-impersonal dilemmas?
Areas associated with working memory and cognitive control, like the DLPFC and parietal lobe.
How does cognitive control relate to moral decision-making?
Cognitive control distinguishes between moral reasoning (thinking) and moral intuition (emotional reaction).
What brain regions are activated when judging morality?
The insula, amygdala, mPFC, and right TPJ are involved in moral judgment.
What is the relationship between empathy, sympathy, and prosocial behaviors?
Prosocial behaviors, such as helping others, are rooted in the capacity to feel empathy and sympathy for others.
Are helpful behaviors innate in humans?
Yes, humans exhibit helpful behaviors regardless of external factors, but unlike chimps, they do not help if someone drops an object on purpose.
What influences prosocial decision-making?
People are more likely to make prosocial choices for friends rather than disliked peers, which activates the TPL and putamen, part of the striatum.
What neural correlates are associated with prosocial behaviour for friends?
Mentalizing, reward, and attachment areas of the brain are involved in prosocial behaviour for friends.