Wu Zhihui, Song Junyao, Chen Xiyou, Ding Daoqun, Zhang Xiangyi
Department of Psychology, School of Education Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People's Republic of China.
Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People's Republic of China.
Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2024 Apr 24;17:1745-1756. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S455057. eCollection 2024.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with various aspects of morality, but their precise impact on moral decision-making remains unclear. This study aims to explore how ACEs influence moral decision-making in sacrificial dilemmas.
Study 1 employed traditional dilemma analysis to quantify utilitarian responses and compare them among groups with no, low, and high ACEs. Study 2 utilized the CNI model to quantify three determinants of moral decision-making: sensitivity to consequences (C parameter), sensitivity to norms (N parameter), and general action tendencies (I parameter). Differences in these parameters among groups with no, low, and high ACEs were investigated.
Both Study 1 and Study 2 revealed that the high-ACE and low-ACE groups showed significantly higher utilitarian responses compared to the no-ACE group. However, no notable differences emerged between the high-ACE and low-ACE groups. Study 2 found that the N parameter was significantly lower in the high-ACE group compared to the low and no-ACE groups. Similarly, the low-ACE group exhibited significantly lower scores in the N parameter compared to the no-ACE group. Additionally, no significant differences were observed in the C and I parameters among groups with no, low, and high ACEs.
These findings suggest that individuals with a high number of ACEs tend to exhibit more utilitarian responses, attributed to decreased affective response to the violation of moral rules, rather than increased deliberative cost-benefit reasoning or a general preference for action. Such insights deepen our understanding of the precise aspects of moral decision-making influenced by ACEs.
童年不良经历（ACEs）与道德的各个方面都有关联，但其对道德决策的确切影响仍不明确。本研究旨在探讨ACEs如何在牺牲困境中影响道德决策。
研究1采用传统的困境分析来量化功利主义反应，并在无ACEs、低ACEs和高ACEs的群体之间进行比较。研究2使用CNI模型来量化道德决策的三个决定因素：对后果的敏感性（C参数）、对规范的敏感性（N参数）和一般行动倾向（I参数）。研究了无ACEs、低ACEs和高ACEs群体在这些参数上的差异。
研究1和研究2均表明，与无ACEs组相比，高ACEs组和低ACEs组表现出显著更高的功利主义反应。然而，高ACEs组和低ACEs组之间没有显著差异。研究2发现，与低ACEs组和无ACEs组相比，高ACEs组的N参数显著更低。同样，与无ACEs组相比，低ACEs组在N参数上的得分显著更低。此外，无ACEs、低ACEs和高ACEs群体在C参数和I参数上没有观察到显著差异。
这些发现表明，ACEs数量较多的个体往往表现出更多的功利主义反应，这归因于对违反道德规则的情感反应降低，而不是审议性成本效益推理增加或对行动的普遍偏好。这些见解加深了我们对受ACEs影响的道德决策具体方面的理解。
