A person’s morality is infact influenced by his evolving brain as he ages, says a new study.
A team at the University of Chicago has found that a person’s responses to similar situations change as they age, which is because of the evolving brain circuitry, the latest edition of the Cerebral Cortex journal reported. Researchers combined brain scanning, eye-tracking and behavioural measures to understand how the brain responds to morally laden scenarios.
According to them, the study provides strong evidence that moral reasoning involves a complex integration between affective and cognitive processes that gradually changes with a person’s age. “Both preschool children and adults distinguish between damage done either intentionally or accidentally when assessing whether a perpetrator had done something wrong.
“Nonetheless, adults are much less likely than children to think someone should be punished for damaging an object, especially if the action was accidental,” said lead researcher Jean Decety. The different responses correlate with the various stages of development, Decety said, as the brain becomes better equipped to make reasoned judgements and integrate an understanding of the mental states of others with the outcome of their actions.
“Negative emotions alert people to the moral nature of a situation by bringing on discomfort that can precede moral judgement, and such an emotional response is stronger in young children,” he explained.
For the research, the scientists studied 127 participants, aged 4 to 36, who were shown short video clips while undergoing an fMRI scan.