title: A Developmental Neuroscience Study of Moral Decision Making Regarding Resource Allocation.
abstract: Distinguishing between equity and equality is essential when making social and moral decisions, yet the related neurodevelopmental processes are unknown. Evaluations of contextually based third-party distributions incorporating recipient need and resource importance were examined in children and adolescents (N = 82; 8-16 years). Spatiotemporal neurodynamic responses show distinct developmental profiles to viewing such distributions. Event-related potentials (ERPs) differentially predicted real-life behaviors based on age, where older children's (8-10 years) evaluations were related to a fairly rapid, automatic ERP component (early posterior negativity), whereas adolescent and preadolescent (11-16 years) evaluations, first-person allocations, and prosocial behaviors were predicted by later, cognitively controlled ERP components (P3 and late positive potential). Together, these results reveal age-related changes regarding the neural responses that correspond to distributive justice decisions.
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago.
authors.forename: Kimberly L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Meidenbauer
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago.|University of Wisconsin Green Bay.
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cowell
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, College Park.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Killen
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Decety
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009014:Morals; D040841:Resource Allocation; D012923:Social Class; D012935:Social Justice