Adel Bazram, Mahdi Khanjani, Mohammad Asgari, Seyed Mohammad Saeed Rezvani Nejad,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (10-2022)
Abstract
| The three principles of double effect, personal contact, and action are suggested as the chief psychological mechanisms affecting human moral decision making in trolley dilemmas. The purpose of current research was to investigate the claim of the universality of these principles and their role in moral decision making in trolley dilemma in the oriental culture of Iran. In this research, using a semi-experimental single group pre-test-post-test design, four scenarios were used adopted from similar research. The statistical population of this research was the general population active in social media. The sample consisted of 235 participants with an average age of 30.34. Among the subjects, 143 were women and 92 were men. "McNemar" test was used for statistical analysis. Based on the results, the effect of all three principles on the ethical decision making of the subjects in trolley dilemma was confirmed significantly (Pvalue>0.05). Therefore, this research shows that all three principles of personal contact, action, and double effect are effectively influencing moral decision making. |
Mahdiyar Mokhlespour Esfahani, Alireza Moradi, Mehrdad Dadgostar, Nooshin Pourbaghi, Mostafa Khanzadi,
Volume 13, Issue 1 (6-2025)
Abstract
Adhering to ethical principles in construction projects is one of the most fundamental elements for achieving project goals. This research aimed to assess civil engineers' moral development level using Kohlberg's moral dilemmas while simultaneously recording brain data. Thirty right-handed male engineers with at least three years of practical experience participated in the study. Their hemodynamic brain activity was monitored using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during three phases: reading the stories, answering questions, and prioritizing. The results were analyzed using a non-parametric Mann-Whitney statistical test, revealing a significant difference in the levels of HbO2 in the right DLPFC and the left VLPFC while reading the stories, between engineers with better and poorer moral judgment (p = 0.047 and p = 0.026, respectively). This activity in the mentioned regions was greater for engineers with better scores. Also, it was found that in the prioritization phase, the level of Hb in the right VLPFC was significantly higher in the group with low-ethics scores (p = 0.015). The findings indicate the key role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in processing conflicts and moral judgments, which aligns with previous research. Despite the numerous advantages of NIRS, this method has limitations in measuring the depth of brain activity. It is suggested that future research include female engineers, left-handed individuals, and additional brain regions. Therefore, this study represents a novel step in predicting the moral level of engineers using hemodynamic brain data, providing biological evidence consistent with the results of the moral dilemma questionnaires and enabling the prediction of the moral development level of civil engineers using artificial intelligence.
