Impaired decoding of fear and disgust predicts utilitarian moral judgment in alcohol-dependent individuals.
BACKGROUND
Recent studies of moral reasoning in patients with alcohol use disorders have indicated a "utilitarian" bias, whereby patients are more likely to endorse emotionally aversive actions in favor of aggregate welfare (e.g., throwing a dying person into the sea to keep a lifeboat of survivors afloat). Here, we investigate the underlying psychological and neuropsychological processes.


METHODS
Alcohol-dependent individuals (n = 31) and healthy comparison participants (n = 34) completed a validated moral judgment task, as well as measures of impulsivity, mood symptoms (anxiety and depression), and emotional face recognition.


RESULTS
Alcohol-dependent individuals were more likely to endorse utilitarian choices in personal moral dilemmas compared with controls and rated these choices as less difficult to make. Hierarchical regression models showed that poorer decoding of fear and disgust significantly predicted utilitarian biases in personal moral dilemmas, over and above alcohol consumption. Impulsivity and mood symptoms did not predict moral decisions.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that impaired fear and disgust decoding contributes to utilitarian moral decision-making in alcohol-dependent individuals.
Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, School of Psychology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Martina
M
Carmona-Perera
Luke
L
Clark
Liane
L
Young
Miguel
M
Pérez-García
Antonio
A
Verdejo-García
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009014:Morals; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
Alcohol-Dependent Individuals; Disgust Decoding; Emotional Face Recognition; Fear; Moral Decision-Making; Utilitarian Judgments