Differential neural circuitry and self-interest in real vs hypothetical moral decisions.

ABSTRACT: Classic social psychology studies demonstrate that people can behave in ways that contradict their intentions--especially within the moral domain. We measured brain activity while subjects decided between financial self-benefit (earning money) and preventing physical harm (applying an electric shock) to a confederate under both real and hypothetical conditions. We found a shared neural network associated with empathic concern for both types of decisions. However, hypothetical and real moral decisions also recruited distinct neural circuitry: hypothetical moral decisions mapped closely onto the imagination network, while real moral decisions elicited activity in the bilateral amygdala and anterior cingulate--areas essential for social and affective processes. Moreover, during real moral dec

SUBMITTER: FeldmanHall O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3475363 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature