Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Jun 2023)
Effects of Alexithymia on Moral Decision-Making in Sacrificial Dilemmas: High Alexithymia is Associated with Weaker Sensitivity to Moral Norms
Abstract
Xiyou Chen,1,2,* Zhihui Wu,1,2,* Bin Zhan,3 Daoqun Ding,1,2 Xiangyi Zhang1,4 1Department of Psychology, School of Education Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China; 2Center for Mind and Brain Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Cognition and Human Behavior Key Laboratory of Hunan Province, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Daoqun Ding; Xiangyi Zhang, Department of Psychology, School of Education Science, Hunan Normal University, 36 Lushan Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410081, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Although several studies have investigated the association between alexithymia and moral decision-making in sacrificial dilemmas, the evidence remains mixed. The current work investigated this association and how alexithymia affects moral choice in such dilemmas.Methods: The current research used a multinomial model (ie, CNI model) to disentangle (a) sensitivity to consequences, (b) sensitivity to moral norms, and (c) general preference for inaction versus action irrespective of consequences and norms in responses to moral dilemmas.Results: Higher levels of alexithymia were associated with a greater preference for utilitarian judgments in sacrificial dilemmas (Study 1). Furthermore, individuals with high alexithymia showed significantly weaker sensitivity to moral norms than did those with low alexithymia, whereas there were no significant differences in sensitivity to consequences or a general preference for inaction versus action (Study 2).Conclusion: The findings suggest that alexithymia affects moral choice in sacrificial dilemmas by blunting emotional reactions to causing harm, rather than through increased deliberative cost–benefit reasoning or general preference for inaction.Keywords: alexithymia, moral decision-making, deontology, utilitarianism, CNI model
