Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Brain Cogn. 2024 Oct;180:106201. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106201. Epub 2024 Aug 21.
Is morality the product of multiple domain-specific psychological mechanisms, or one domain-general mechanism? Previous research suggests that morality consists of a range of solutions to the problems of cooperation recurrent in human social life. This theory of 'morality as cooperation' suggests that there are (at least) seven specific moral domains: family values, group loyalty, reciprocity, heroism, deference, fairness and property rights. However, it is unclear how these types of morality are implemented at the neuroanatomical level. The possibilities are that morality is (1) the product of multiple distinct domain-specific adaptations for cooperation, (2) the product of a single domain-general adaptation which learns a range of moral rules, or (3) the product of some combination of domain-specific and domain-general adaptations. To distinguish between these possibilities, we first conducted an anatomical likelihood estimation meta-analysis of previous studies investigating the relationship between these seven moral domains and neuroanatomy. This meta-analysis provided evidence for a combination of specific and general adaptations. Next, we investigated the relationship between the seven types of morality - as measured by the Morality as Cooperation Questionnaire (Relevance) - and grey matter volume in a large neuroimaging (n = 607) sample. No associations between moral values and grey matter volume survived whole-brain exploratory testing. We conclude that whatever combination of mechanisms are responsible for morality, either they are not neuroanatomically localised, or else their localisation is not manifested in grey matter volume. Future research should employ phylogenetically informed a priori predictions, as well as alternative measures of morality and of brain function.
道德是多种特定于领域的心理机制的产物，还是一种通用的领域机制？先前的研究表明，道德由一系列解决人类社会生活中反复出现的合作问题的方案组成。这种“道德即合作”的理论表明，存在（至少）七种特定的道德领域：家庭价值观、群体忠诚、互惠、英雄主义、尊重、公平和产权。然而，这些类型的道德在神经解剖学层面上是如何实现的尚不清楚。有以下几种可能性：道德是（1）多种用于合作的特定领域适应的产物，（2）一种用于学习一系列道德规则的通用领域适应的产物，或者（3）特定领域和通用领域适应的某种组合的产物。为了区分这些可能性，我们首先对先前研究中这些七种道德领域与神经解剖学之间关系的研究进行了解剖学似然估计元分析。该元分析提供了特定和通用适应的组合的证据。接下来，我们在一个大型神经影像学（n=607）样本中研究了七种类型的道德（通过《合作道德问卷》（Relevance）进行衡量）与灰质体积之间的关系。在全脑探索性测试中，没有发现道德价值观与灰质体积之间的关联。我们的结论是，无论负责道德的机制组合是什么，它们要么不是神经解剖学局部的，要么其定位没有体现在灰质体积上。未来的研究应该采用系统发生学的先验预测，以及替代的道德和大脑功能的衡量标准。
