Gender-related differences in moral judgments

M. Fumagalli; R. Ferrucci; F. Mameli; S. Marceglia; S. Mrakic-Sposta; S. Zago; C. Lucchiari; D. Consonni; F. Nordio; G. Pravettoni; S. Cappa; A. Priori

doi:10.1007/s10339-009-0335-2

Cognitive Processing

August 2010, Volume 11, Issue 3, pp 219–226

Gender-related differences in moral judgments

Authors
Authors and affiliations

M. Fumagalli
R. Ferrucci
F. Mameli
S. Marceglia
S. Mrakic-Sposta
S. Zago
C. Lucchiari
D. Consonni
F. Nordio
G. Pravettoni
S. Cappa
A. PrioriEmail author

Research Report

First Online:: 30 August 2009

Received:: 02 April 2009
Accepted:: 10 August 2009

DOI: 10.1007/s10339-009-0335-2

Cite this article as:: Fumagalli, M., Ferrucci, R., Mameli, F. et al. Cogn Process (2010) 11: 219. doi:10.1007/s10339-009-0335-2

26 Citations
1.5k Views

Abstract

The moral sense is among the most complex aspects of the human mind. Despite substantial evidence confirming gender-related neurobiological and behavioral differences, and psychological research suggesting gender specificities in moral development, whether these differences arise from cultural effects or are innate remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of gender, education (general education and health education) and religious belief (Catholic and non-Catholic) on moral choices by testing 50 men and 50 women with a moral judgment task. Whereas we found no differences between the two genders in utilitarian responses to non-moral dilemmas and to impersonal moral dilemmas, men gave significantly more utilitarian answers to personal moral (PM) dilemmas (i.e., those courses of action whose endorsement involves highly emotional decisions). Cultural factors such as education and religion had no effect on performance in the moral judgment task. These findings suggest that the cognitive–emotional processes involved in evaluating PM dilemmas differ in men and in women, possibly reflecting differences in the underlying neural mechanisms. Gender-related determinants of moral behavior may partly explain gender differences in real-life involving power management, economic decision-making, leadership and possibly also aggressive and criminal behaviors.

Keywords

Moral judgmentMoralityUtilitarianismGender differences

References

Aldrich D, Kage R (2003) Mars and Venus at twilight: a critical investigation of moralism, age effects, and sex differences. Pol Psychol 24:23–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aleman A, Swart M (2008) Sex differences in neural activation to facial expressions denoting contempt and disgust. PLoS One 3:e3622CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Archer J (2004) Sex differences in aggression in real-world settings: a meta-analytic review. Rev Gen Psychol 8:291–322CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Australian Institute of Criminology (2007) Australian crime: facts and figures 2006. AIC, CanberraGoogle Scholar
Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S (2004) The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. J Autism Dev Disord 34:163–175CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Bebeau MJ, Monson BE (2008) Guided by theory, grounded in evidence: a way forward for professional ethics education. In: Nucci LP, Narvaez D (eds) Handbook of moral and character education. Routledge, New York, pp 557–582Google Scholar
Bell EC, Willson MC, Wilman AH, Dave S, Silverstone PH (2006) Males and females differ in brain activation during cognitive tasks. Neuroimage 30:529–538CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Bjorklund F (2003) Differences in the justification of choices in moral dilemmas: effects of gender, time pressure and dilemma seriousness. Scand J Psychol 44:459–466CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Bolla KI, Eldreth DA, Matochik JA, Cadet JL (2004) Sex-related differences in a gambling task and its neurological correlates. Cereb Cortex 14:1226–1232CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Brabeck M, Shore E (2003) Gender differences in intellectual and moral development? The evidence that refutes the claim. In: Demick J, Andreoletti C (eds) Handbook of adult development. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp 351–368Google Scholar
Buss AH, Perry M (1992) The aggression questionnaire. J Pers Soc Psychol 63:452–459CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Cahill L (2006) Why sex matters for neuroscience. Nat Rev Neurosci 7:477–484CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Chen X, Sachdev PS, Wen W, Anstey KJ (2007) Sex differences in regional grey matter in healthy individuals aged 44–48 years: a voxel-based morphometric study. Neuroimage 36:691–699CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Dupoux E, Jacob P (2007) Universal moral grammar: a critical appraisal. Trends Cogn Sci 11:373–378CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Eisenberg N (2005) The development of empathy-related responding. Nebr Symp Motiv 51:73–117PubMedGoogle Scholar
Eisenman R (1967) Sex differences in moral judgment. Percept Mot Skills 24:784PubMedGoogle Scholar
Fischer H, Fransson P, Wright CI, Backman L (2004) Enhanced occipital and anterior cingulate activation in men but not in women during exposure to angry and fearful male faces. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 4:326–334CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Fumagalli M, Vergari M, Pasqualetti P, Marceglia S, Mameli F, Ferrucci R, Mrakic-Sposta S, Zago S, Sartori G, Pravettoni G, Barbieri S, Cappa S, Priori A (2009) Brain switches utilitarian behavior: does sex make the differences? (submitted)
Gilligan C (1982) In a different voice: psychological theory and women’s development. Harvard University Press, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
Greene JD (2009) Dual-process morality and the personal/impersonal distinction: a reply to McGuire, Langdon, Coltheart, and Mackenzie. J Exp Soc Psychol. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.01.003
Greene J, Haidt J (2002) How (and where) does moral judgment work? Trends Cogn Sci 6:517–523CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Greene JD, Sommerville RB, Nystrom LE, Darley JM, Cohen JD (2001) An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgment. Science 293:2105–2108CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Greene JD, Nystrom LE, Engell AD, Darley JM, Cohen JD (2004) The neural bases of cognitive conflict and control in moral judgment. Neuron 44:389–400CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Greenfeld L, Snell TL (1999) Women offenders. Bureau of Justice Statistics, WashingtonGoogle Scholar
Gump LS, Baker RC, Roll S (2000) Cultural and gender differences in moral judgment: a study of Mexican Americans and Anglo-Americans. Hisp J Behav Sci 22:78–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gur RC, Turetsky BI, Matsui M, Yan M, Bilker W, Hughett P, Gur RE (1999) Sex differences in brain gray and white matter in healthy young adults: correlations with cognitive performance. J Neurosci 19:4065–4072PubMedGoogle Scholar
Haan N (1975) Hypothetical and actual moral reasoning in a situation of civil disobedience. J Pers Soc Psychol 32:255–270CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hareli S, Shomrat N, Hess U (2009) Emotional versus neutral expressions and perceptions of social dominance and submissiveness. Emotion 9:378–384CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Harenski CL, Antonenko O, Shane MS, Kiehl KA (2008) Gender differences in neural mechanisms underlying moral sensitivity. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 3:313–321CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Hauser M, Cushman F, Young L, Jin RK, Mikhail J (2007) A dissociation between moral judgments and justifications. Mind Lang 22:1–21Google Scholar
Holstein CB (1976) Irreversible, stepwise sequence in the development of moral judgment: a longitudinal study of males and females. Child Dev 47:51–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Home Office (2002) Prison statistics England and Wales 2002. Home Office, LondonGoogle Scholar
Home Office (2003) Prison population brief. England and Wales: October 2003. Home Office, LondonGoogle Scholar
Indick W, Kim J, Oelberger B, Semino L (2000) Gender differences in moral judgement: is non-consequential reasoning a factor? Curr Res Soc Psychol 5:285–298Google Scholar
Jaffee S, Hyde JS (2000) Gender differences in moral orientation: a meta-analysis. Psychol Bull 126:703–726CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Keasey CB (1972) The lack of sex differences in the moral judgments of preadolescents. J Soc Psychol 86:157PubMedGoogle Scholar
Kimura D (1996) Sex, sexual orientation and sex hormones influence human cognitive function. Curr Opin Neurobiol 6:259–263CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Koenigs M, Young L, Adolphs R, Tranel D, Cushman F, Hauser M, Damasio A (2007) Damage to the prefrontal cortex increases utilitarian moral judgements. Nature 446:908–911CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Kohlberg L (1964) Development of moral character and moral ideology. In: Hoffman ML, Hoffman LW (eds) Review of child development research. Russell Sage Foundation, New York
Lee TM, Liu HL, Chan CC, Fang SY, Gao JH (2005) Neural activities associated with emotion recognition observed in men and women. Mol Psychiatry 10:450–455CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Lifton PD (1985) Individual differences in moral development: the relation of sex, gender, and personality to morality. J Pers 53:306–334CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Lippa R (2005) Gender, nature and nurture. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, MahwahGoogle Scholar
Luders E, Steinmetz H, Jancke L (2002) Brain size and grey matter volume in the healthy human brain. Neuroreport 13:2371–2374CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Maeda Y, Thoma SJ, Bebeau MJ (2009) Understanding the relationship between moral judgment development and individual characteristics: the role of educational contexts. J Educ Psychol 101:233–247CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGraw KM, Bloomfield J (1987) Social influence on group moral decisions: the interactive effects of moral reasoning and sex role orientation. J Pers Soc Psychol 53:1080–1087CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
McGuire J, Langdon R, Coltheart M, Mackenzie C (2009) A reanalysis of the personal/impersonal distinction in moral psychology research. J Exp Soc Psychol 45:577–580CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldfield RC (1971) The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia 9:97–113CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Overman WH (2004) Sex differences in early childhood, adolescence, and adulthood on cognitive tasks that rely on orbital prefrontal cortex. Brain Cogn 55:134–147CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Overman WH, Frassrand K, Ansel S, Trawalter S, Bies B, Redmond A (2004) Performance on the IOWA card task by adolescents and adults. Neuropsychologia 42:1838–1851CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Overman W, Graham L, Redmond A, Eubank R, Boettcher L, Samplawski O, Walsh K (2006) Contemplation of moral dilemmas eliminates sex differences on the Iowa gambling task. Behav Neurosci 120:817–825CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Piaget J (1932) The moral judgment of the child. Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, Oxford
Raz N, Gunning-Dixon F, Head D, Rodrigue KM, Williamson A, Acker JD (2004) Aging, sexual dimorphism, and hemispheric asymmetry of the cerebral cortex: replicability of regional differences in volume. Neurobiol Aging 25:377–396CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Reavis R, Overman WH (2001) Adult sex differences on a decision-making task previously shown to depend on the orbital prefrontal cortex. Behav Neurosci 115:196–206CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Rest J (1979) Development in judging moral issues. University of Minnesota Press, MinneapolisGoogle Scholar
Rest JR, Narvaez D, Thoma SJ, Bebeau MJ (1999) DIT2: devising and testing a revised instrument of moral judgment. J Educ Psychol 91:644–659CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabol W, Couture H, Harrison PM (2007) Prisoners in 2006. Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin. U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DCGoogle Scholar
Schlaepfer TE, Harris GJ, Tien AY, Peng L, Lee S, Pearlson GD (1995) Structural differences in the cerebral cortex of healthy female and male subjects: a magnetic resonance imaging study. Psychiatry Res 61:129–135CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Skoe EE (1995) Sex role orientation and its relationship to the development of identity and moral thought. Scand J Psychol 36:235–245CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Sowell ER, Peterson BS, Kan E, Woods RP, Yoshii J, Bansal R, Xu D, Zhu H, Thompson PM, Toga AW (2007) Sex differences in cortical thickness mapped in 176 healthy individuals between 7 and 87 years of age. Cereb Cortex 17:1550–1560CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Thoma SJ (1993) The relationship between political preference and moral judgment development in late adolescence. Merrill-Palmer quarterly. J Dev Psychol 39:359–374Google Scholar
Thomson J (1986) Rights, restitution and risk. Harvard University Press, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
Tranel D, Damasio H, Denburg NL, Bechara A (2005) Does gender play a role in functional asymmetry of ventromedial prefrontal cortex? Brain 128:2872–2881CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Vecchi T, Girelli L (1998) Gender differences in visuo-spatial processing: the importance of distinguishing between passive storage and active manipulation. Acta Psychol 99:1–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voyer D, Saunders KA (2004) Gender differences on the mental rotations test: a factor analysis. Acta Psychol 117:79–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss E, Siedentopf CM, Hofer A, Deisenhammer EA, Hoptman MJ, Kremser C, Golaszewski S, Felber S, Fleischhacker WW, Delazer M (2003) Sex differences in brain activation pattern during a visuospatial cognitive task: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in healthy volunteers. Neurosci Lett 344:169–172CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

Authors and Affiliations

M. Fumagalli
- 1
- 2
- 3
R. Ferrucci
- 1
- 2
- 3
F. Mameli
- 1
- 2
- 3
S. Marceglia
- 1
- 2
- 3
S. Mrakic-Sposta
- 1
- 2
- 3
S. Zago
- 1
- 3
C. Lucchiari
- 4
D. Consonni
- 5
F. Nordio
- 5
- 6
G. Pravettoni
- 4
S. Cappa
- 7
A. Priori
- 1
- 2
- 3
Email author

1.Dipartimento di Scienze Neurologiche, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina ElenaUniversità di MilanoMilanItaly
2.Centro Clinico per le Neuronanotecnologie e la NeurostimolazioneFondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina ElenaMilanItaly
3.Unità Operativa di NeurologiaFondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina ElenaMilanItaly
4.Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali e Politiche, Centro interdipartimentale di Ricerca e Intervento sui Processi Decisionali (IRIDe)Università di MilanoMilanItaly
5.Unità di EpidemiologiaFondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina ElenaMilanItaly
6.Dipartimento di Clinica Medica, Nefrologia e Scienze della PrevenzioneUniversità degli StudiParmaItaly
7.Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Centro di Neuroscienze Cognitive, Istituto Scientifico San RaffaeleUniversità Vita-Salute San RaffaeleMilanItaly

Gender-related differences in moral judgments

Abstract

Keywords

Copyright information

Authors and Affiliations

Cookies