Neural Correlates of Post-Conventional Moral Reasoning: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Abstract

Going back to Kohlberg, moral development research affirms that people progress through different stages of moral reasoning as cognitive abilities mature. Individuals at a lower level of moral reasoning judge moral issues mainly based on self-interest (personal interests schema) or based on adherence to laws and rules (maintaining norms schema), whereas individuals at the post-conventional level judge moral issues based on deeper principles and shared ideals. However, the extent to which moral development is reflected in structural brain architecture remains unknown. To investigate this question, we used voxel-based morphometry and examined the brain structure in a sample of 67 Master of Business Administration (MBA) students. Subjects completed the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2) which measures moral development in terms of cognitive schema preference. Results demonstrate that subjects at the post-conventional level of moral reasoning were characterized by increased gray matter volume in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, compared with subjects at a lower level of moral reasoning. Our findings support an important role for both cognitive and emotional processes in moral reasoning and provide first evidence for individual differences in brain structure according to the stages of moral reasoning first proposed by Kohlberg decades ago.

Moral competence and brain connectivity: A resting-state fMRI study

“…In a previous paper in which we reported anatomical data from the same participants (Prehn et al, 2015), we described brain structural differences with regard to Kohlberg’s levels of moral development, which is measured with the DIT-2 (Rest et al, 1999). According to Kohlberg’s model, individuals at the low levels judge moral issues based on personal interests (pre-conventional level) or social norms (conventional level), whereas individuals at the high level (post-conventional level) judge moral issues based on universal ethical principles (Kohlberg, 1984).…”

Business Ethics: The Promise of Neuroscience

“…Pincus et al (2014) found that individuals with a stronger neurobiological representation (left ventrolateral pre-frontal cortex) of deontological rules demonstrate "deontological resolve," meaning that individuals will resist bending the rules, when others do so. The study of Prehn et al (2015) indicates that subjects at Kohlberg's (1969) post-conventional level of moral reasoning are characterized by increased gray matter volume (ventromedial pre-frontal cortex, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex), compared with subjects at a lower level of moral reasoning. Furthermore, studies have found overlap between moral sensitivity brain regions (anterior pre-frontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus, and limbic regions) and regions associated with basic emotions such as disgust or fear (Moll et al, 2005).…”

Developmental impairments in moral competence as mitigation in capital cases

“…The key brain regions that have been implicated in the mediation of moral reasoning and imagining the pain of others in social contexts include the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), the medial frontopolar cortex [Brodman area (BA) 10], the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the medial orbitofrontal cortex, the ventral striatum, the amygdala, hippocampus, the insula, nucleus accumbens, the hypothalamus, the posterior superior temporal sulcus (BA 21, 39), the left posterior midtemporal (BA 22, 19), the lateral occipital gyri (BA 18,19), right temporal pole (BA 38), and the anterior and posterior cingulate gyrus as well as gray matter volume in parts of these regions (with greater volume associated with higher moral competence) (Baird, ; Decety & Howard, ; Decety & Porges, ; de Oliveira‐Souza, Zahn, & Moll, 2015; Light & Zahn‐Waxler, ; Prehn et al, , Prehn et al, ). In addition, all of the brain regions are innately sensitive during early development and even into adolescence and with drug exposure (Decety & Howard, ).…”

“…Is the perception of a hostile intention among others a frequent or "default" setting for clients? Prehn et al, 2014). In addition, all of the brain regions are innately sensitive during early development and even into adolescence and with drug exposure (Decety & Howard, 2013).…”