The Limits of Emotion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua May
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Moral Cognition ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Moral Concepts ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
The Brain

Empirical research apparently suggests that emotions play an integral role in moral judgment. The evidence for sentimentalism is diverse, but it is rather weak and has generally been overblown. There is no evidence that our moral concepts themselves are partly composed of or necessarily dependent on emotions. While the moral/conventional distinction may partly characterize the essence of moral judgment, moral norms needn’t be backed by affect in order to transcend convention. Priming people with incidental emotions like disgust doesn’t make them moralize actions. Finally, moral judgment can only be somewhat impaired by damage to areas of the brain that are generally associated with emotional processing (as in acquired sociopathy and frontotemporal dementia). While psychopaths exhibit both emotional and rational deficits, the latter alone can explain any minor defects in moral cognition.

scholarly journals Psychology of development of moral reasoning: Problem-oriented overview of the field

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-287
Author(s):  
Jovan Miric
Keyword(s):  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Moral Concepts ◽  
Reasoning Problem ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
Moral Rules ◽  
The Way

First and foremost, this paper provides a short historical reminder of the emergence of the field of psychology of development of moral reasoning. In the second part of the paper, the author offers a problem-oriented overview of the field, that is, one possible classification of particular groups of problems for empirical research. This overview does not only point out to the problems that were more and that were less studied (e.g.. evaluative moral judgment and reasoning, distinguishing between moral and extra-moral rules and norms) and to those that were relatively neglected (i.e. understanding moral situations), but also to the problems that psychologists did not even recognize as research problems. Such are the problems of development of moral concepts, meaning of moral words etc. Finally, the author also points out to the fact that this classification could be taken as one way to define the field, that is, the way to determine the boundaries of its subject of studying.

What sentimentalists should say about emotion

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlie Kurth
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Moral Cognition ◽  
Multilevel Structure

Abstract Recent work by emotion researchers indicates that emotions have a multilevel structure. Sophisticated sentimentalists should take note of this work – for it better enables them to defend a substantive role for emotion in moral cognition. Contra May's rationalist criticisms, emotions are not only able to carry morally relevant information, but can also substantially influence moral judgment and reasoning.

Commentaries and Rejoinder on

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Gong ◽  
Douglas L. Medin ◽  
Tal Eyal ◽  
Nira Liberman ◽  
Yaacov Trope ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Psychological Distance ◽  
Temporal Distance ◽  
Moral Cognition ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Moral Condemnation ◽  
Construal Levels

In the hope to resolve the two sets of opposing results concerning the effects of psychological distance and construal levels on moral judgment, Žeželj and Jokić (2014) conducted a series of four direct replications, which yielded divergent patterns of results. In our commentary, we first revisit the consistent findings that lower-level construals induced by How/Why manipulation lead to harsher moral condemnation than higher-level construals. We then speculate on the puzzling patterns of results regarding the role of temporal distance in shaping moral judgment. And we conclude by discussing the complexity of morality and propose that it may be important to incorporate cultural systems into the study of moral cognition.

Actions Speak Louder than Outcomes in Judgments of Prosocial Behavior

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Yudkin ◽  
Annayah Miranda Beatrice Prosser ◽  
Molly Crockett
Keyword(s):  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Moral Cognition ◽  
Action Value ◽  
Good Deeds

Recently proposed models of moral cognition suggest that people’s judgments of harmful acts are influenced by their consideration both of those acts’ consequences (“outcome value”), and of the feeling associated with their enactment (“action value”). Here we apply this framework to judgments of prosocial behavior, suggesting that people’s judgments of the praiseworthiness of good deeds are determined both by the benefit those deeds confer to others and by how good they would feel to perform. Three experiments confirm this prediction. After developing a new measure to assess the extent to which praiseworthiness is influenced by action and outcome values, we show how these factors make significant and independent contributions to praiseworthiness. We also find that people are consistently more sensitive to action than to outcome value in judging the praiseworthiness of good deeds, but not harmful deeds. This observation echoes the finding that people are often insensitive to outcomes in their giving behavior. Overall, this research tests and validates a novel framework for understanding moral judgment, with implications for the motivations that underlie human altruism.

The role of social cognition in moral judgment in frontotemporal dementia

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht ◽  
Teresa Torralva ◽  
María Roca ◽  
Mariángeles Pose ◽  
Facundo Manes
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia

scholarly journals Neurophysiological Correlates of Comprehending Emotional Meaning in Context

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 2245-2262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphne J. Holt ◽  
Spencer K. Lynn ◽  
Gina R. Kuperberg
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Late Positivity ◽  
Electrophysiological Responses ◽  
Emotional Meaning ◽  
Reading Experiment ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Modulated Process

Although the neurocognitive mechanisms of nonaffective language comprehension have been studied extensively, relatively less is known about how the emotional meaning of language is processed. In this study, electrophysiological responses to affectively positive, negative, and neutral words, presented within nonconstraining, neutral contexts, were evaluated under conditions of explicit evaluation of emotional content (Experiment 1) and passive reading (Experiment 2). In both experiments, a widely distributed Late Positivity was found to be larger to negative than to positive words (a “negativity bias”). In addition, in Experiment 2, a small, posterior N400 effect to negative and positive (relative to neutral) words was detected, with no differences found between N400 magnitudes to negative and positive words. Taken together, these results suggest that comprehending the emotional meaning of words following a neutral context requires an initial semantic analysis that is relatively more engaged for emotional than for nonemotional words, whereas a later, more extended, attention-modulated process distinguishes the specific emotional valence (positive vs. negative) of words. Thus, emotional processing networks within the brain appear to exert a continuous influence, evident at several stages, on the construction of the emotional meaning of language.

Chronic treatment with a tryptophan-rich protein hydrolysate improves emotional processing, mental energy levels and reaction time in middle-aged women

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 350-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Mohajeri ◽  
J. Wittwer ◽  
K. Vargas ◽  
E. Hogan ◽  
A. Holmes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Mood State ◽  
Protein Hydrolysate ◽  
Energy Levels ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Daily Consumption ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Facial Emotional Expression

Common pharmacological treatments of mood disorders aim to modulate serotonergic neurotransmission and enhance serotonin levels in the brain. Brain serotonin levels are dependent on the availability of its food-derived precursor essential amino acid tryptophan (Trp). We tested the hypothesis that delivery of Trp via food may serve as an alternative treatment, and examined the effects of a Trp-rich, bioavailable dietary supplement from egg protein hydrolysate on cognitive and emotional functions, mood state, and sleep quality. In a randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel trial, fifty-nine mentally and physically healthy women aged 45–65 years received placebo (n 30) or the supplement (n 29) (both as 0·5 g twice per d) for 19 d. Emotional processing was significantly changed by supplementation, exhibiting a shift in bias away from negative stimuli. The results for the Affective Go/No-Go Task exhibited a slowing of responses to negative words, suggesting reduced attention to negative emotional stimuli. The results for the Facial Emotional Expression Rating Task also supported a shift away from attention to negative emotions and a bias towards happiness. An increase in arousal-like symptoms, labelled ‘high energy’, shorter reaction times and a slight benefit to sustained attention were observed in the treated subjects. Finally, when the supplement was taken 60–90 min before bedtime, a feeling of happiness before going to bed was consistently reported. In summary, daily consumption of a low-dose supplement containing bioavailable Trp may have beneficial effects on emotional and cognitive functions.

To Confront or to Avoid

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 734-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan S. Kemper ◽  
Anna-Kaisa Newheiser
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Inference ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Avoidance Response ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Moral Norm ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Strategic Action ◽  
The Face

What do people want to do in response to witnessing someone violate a moral norm? Prior research posits that violations of distinct norms elicit specific emotions, specifically anger and disgust. We examined whether moral violations analogously elicit distinct behavioral responses, focusing on desires to confront and avoid moral violators. Participants read scenarios depicting harmful and impure actions (Study 1) or violations of all six content domains proposed by Moral Foundations Theory (Study 2). Bayesian inference revealed that participants expressed distinctively high levels of desire to avoid (vs. confront) violators of purity norms. Violations of other moral norms did not similarly elicit unique patterns of avoidance or confrontation. Thus, behavioral responses to moral violators depend in part on which norm was violated, with impure acts eliciting a uniquely strong avoidance response. Moral judgment can serve as a precursor to strategic action in the face of perceived immorality.

Could Emotions Be Modelled through Information Processing?

2015 ◽  
pp. 63-82
Author(s):  
Ebrahim Oshni Alvandi
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Emotional Agents ◽  
The Brain

One way to evaluate cognitive processes in living or nonliving systems is by using the notion of “information processing”. Emotions as cognitive processes orient human beings to recognize, express and display themselves or their wellbeing through dynamical and adaptive form of information processing. In addition, humans behave or act emotionally in an embodied environment. The brain embeds symbols, meaning and purposes for emotions as well. So any model of natural or autonomous emotional agents/systems needs to consider the embodied features of emotions that are processed in an informational channel of the brain or a processing system. This analytical and explanatory study described in this chapter uses the pragmatic notion of information to develop a theoretical model for emotions that attempts to synthesize some essential aspects of human emotional processing. The model holds context-sensitive and purpose-based features of emotional pattering in the brain. The role of memory is discussed and an idea of control parameters that have roles in processing environmental variables in emotional patterning is introduced.

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