Elevated moral condemnation of third-party violations in multiple sclerosis patients

Abstract

Recent research has demonstrated impairments in social cognition associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present work asks whether these impairments are associated with atypical moral judgment. Specifically, we assessed whether MS patients are able to integrate information about intentions and outcomes for moral judgment (i.e., appropriateness and punishment judg- ments) in the case of third-party acts. We found a complex pattern of moral judgments in MS patients: although their moral judgments were comparable to controls’ for specific types of acts (e.g., accidental or intentional harms), they nevertheless judged behaviors to be less appropriate and endorsed more severe punishment across the board, and they were also more likely to report that others’ responses would be congruent with theirs. Further analyses suggested that elevated levels of externally oriented cognition in MS (due to co-occurring alexithymia) explain these effects. Additionally, we found that the distinction between appropriateness and punishment judgments, whereby harmful outcomes influence punishment judgments to a greater extent than appropriateness judgments, was preserved in MS despite the observed disruptions in the affective and motivational components of empathy. The current results inform the two-process model for intent-based moral judgments as well as possible strategies for improving the quality of life in MS patients.

Sensitivity to ingroup and outgroup norms in the association between commonality and morality

“…The fact that commonality and morality were bidirectionally linked from both a first-and third-party perspective contributes to the broader literature on moral cognition, which has focused primarily on the influence of norms from one's own perspective (for a notable exception, see Patil, Young, Sinay, & Gleichgerrcht, 2017). According to several theories of moral cognition, a defining feature of morality is the notion that moral norms are consistent for everyone, including the self and others (Schwartz, 2007;Schwartz & Bardi, 2001;Smetana, 2006;Turiel, 1978).…”

Alexithymie bei Multipler Sklerose – eine narrative Übersicht

“…Die Beziehung zwischen Alexithymie und Empathie wurde bereits in der Literatur beschrieben 181 187 188 189 . Nur zwei MS Studien haben die Assoziation zwischen Alexithymie und Empathie untersucht und zeigten niedrigere Level an Empathie und verändertes moralisches Urteilen 190 191 . Darüber hinaus scheinen geringe empathische Fähigkeiten und hohe Alexithymie zu einer veränderten moralischen Urteilsfähigkeit bei MS Patienten beizutragen 190 .…”

Social cognition: Concepts, neural basis and its role in multiple sclerosis

“…Social cognition deficits show a significant correlation with the performance in other cognitive domains, such as working memory, processing speed and executive functions, and also show the behavioral impact affecting the moral evaluation of others' actions (see Fig. ) …”