biostudies-literatureUnknown273(2)Ueltzhoffer KDeutscher Akademischer AustauschdienstUniversität HeidelbergRuprecht-Karls-Universität HeidelbergProtected moral values facilitate empathic concern for others, who are exposed to an existential threat, so that one spontaneously helps without taking into account utilitarian cost-benefit considerations. Subjects scoring high on the "Dark Triad" machiavellism, psychopathy, and narcissism are prone to ignore such appeals for selfless help. Until now, data on moral processing and moral decision-making following requests for altruistic help, which directly contrast appeals to protected and non-protected values in subjects with high and low scores on Dark Triad traits, have been missing. In this pilot study 25 healthy subjects with high and 27 with low Dark Triad scores participated in this functional magnetic resonance imaging study. We used a script-driven imagery paradigm to directly contEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience367-377https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9547089biostudies-literatureDo I care for you or for me? Processing of protected and non-protected moral values in subjects with extreme scores on the Dark Triad.PMC9547089Ueltzhoffer KNussel FHerpertz SCBertsch KRoth CNeukel CfalseDo I care for you or for me? Processing of protected and non-protected moral values in subjects with extreme scores on the Dark Triad.Protected moral values facilitate empathic concern for others, who are exposed to an existential threat, so that one spontaneously helps without taking into account utilitarian cost-benefit considerations. Subjects scoring high on the "Dark Triad" machiavellism, psychopathy, and narcissism are prone to ignore such appeals for selfless help. Until now, data on moral processing and moral decision-making following requests for altruistic help, which directly contrast appeals to protected and non-protected values in subjects with high and low scores on Dark Triad traits, have been missing. In this pilot study 25 healthy subjects with high and 27 with low Dark Triad scores participated in this functional magnetic resonance imaging study. We used a script-driven imagery paradigm to directly cont2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Mar2026-04-12T15:08:25.714Z2024-11-20T20:26:04.884ZS-EPMC95470893620831610.1007/s00406-022-01489-3