202510.29
The Difficulty of Moral Decision-Making (Paper Publication )
Posted in RESEARCH
Why does deciding which life to save feel so difficult? We conducted a psychological experiment where participants decided which life to save by manipulating the emotional and utilitarian values of two fictional individuals in a realistic narrative. The results demonstrated that subjective difficulty was influenced not only by the difference in values (smaller differences being harder) but also by the average emotional value of both candidates and the combined values of both victims (the person not chosen). These findings were published in Scientific Reports.(Liu Yu)
Liu, Y., Sugiura, M. Three value-based factors predict perceived difficulty in moral decision-making. Sci Rep 15, 37839 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-21706-y
Why does deciding which life to save feel so difficult? We conducted a psychological experiment where participants decided which life to save by manipulating the emotional and utilitarian values of two fictional individuals in a realistic narrative. The results demonstrated that subjective difficulty was influenced not only by the difference in values (smaller differences being harder) but also by the average emotional value of both candidates and the combined values of both victims (the person not chosen). These findings were published in Scientific Reports.(Liu Yu)
Liu, Y., Sugiura, M. Three value-based factors predict perceived difficulty in moral decision-making. Sci Rep 15, 37839 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-21706-y