Moral Psychology

Instrumental harm and impartial beneficence distinctively frame cognitive representations of moral decision problems

Utilitarian ethical theories argue that the morality of actions depends on their consequences for impartially maximizing overall welfare. Recent research suggests that individual differences in utilitarian tendencies fall along two dimensions: a …

Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis.

Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that …

Research on the neurocomputational mechanisms of moral judgment has typically focused on contrasting utilitarian preferences to impartially maximize aggregate welfare and deontological preferences that judge the morality of actions based on rules. …