As a human, moral decision-making plays a crucial role in our life because the
consequences of our decisions affect others' welfare. Our physiological changes (i.e.,
increased heart rate) might influence our judgment. Furthermore, our ability to deal with
the outcomes of our decisions is essential to move on with our lives. This study
investigates the physiological relationship between cognitive flexibility, which
commonly refers to the ability to shift cognitive set to perceive and respond ...
As a human, moral decision-making plays a crucial role in our life because the
consequences of our decisions affect others' welfare. Our physiological changes (i.e.,
increased heart rate) might influence our judgment. Furthermore, our ability to deal with
the outcomes of our decisions is essential to move on with our lives. This study
investigates the physiological relationship between cognitive flexibility, which
commonly refers to the ability to shift cognitive set to perceive and respond to situational
demands and moral decision-making. Heart rate variability (HRV), the time intervals
between adjacent heartbeats change, and pupil dilation are being used as biomarkers to
observe our physiological changes when facing new circumstances. The Wisconsin Card
Sorting Test (WCST) measures cognitive flexibility and a set of moral dilemmas in the
virtual environment employed for moral decision-making tasks. Our findings demonstrate
a positive correlation (not statistically significant) between cognitive flexibility and
variability in the deontological and utilitarian decisions. A positive correlation (not
statistically significant) has been found between resting state HRV and cognitive
flexibility. A negative correlation (not statistically significant) is seen between resting
state HRV and consistency in moral decision-making. We compared our participants'
reports with their pupil behavior when facing different moral contexts. A positive
correlation (not statistically significant) has been noticed between the reports and pupils'
diameter changes when they face a moral decision-making task. Although none of our
findings were statistically significant, this research contains great prospects for enhancing
our understanding of the link between cognitive flexibility and moral decision-making.
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