Behavioural Brain Research: Male Morality? Relationship between sex, oral contraceptives and underlying testosterone levels and ethical decision-making

A mature approach to ethical decision-making is to use ethical dilemma situations in which the underlying behavioral process violates ethical or utilitarian rules.
rules are based on situational ethics and right and wrong principles.
, utilitarian rules rely on context and are based on results in favor of overall well-being, known as "greater good".
some studies have reported differences between men and women, and men have shown a preference for utilitarian decisions, although this effect depends in some cases on certain dilemmas (e.g., personal and non-personal dilemmas).
has speculated that a key factor in the potential differences between men and women in ethical decision-making may be testosterone.
addition to evaluating endogenetic testosterone, this paper investigates the role of sex and the relationship between the use of hormonal contraceptives and ethical decision-making.
this paper collected data on ethical decisions of 157 young people (male: 71 years, 25.31 years ±4.30 years old; females: 86 years old, 23.31 years old±3.35 years old).
because the circadian rhythm changes in testosterone levels are relatively small in the afternoon, all decisions are made between 13:30 and 17:30 h.
also tested whether the duration of the treatment had an effect on testosterone levels.
male subjects had the option of any afternoon of treatment, while the female subjects' lab appointments were arranged after a brief telephone interview based on their menstrual cycle or the use of hormonal contraceptives.
translates the moral dilemmas previously used by Conway and Gawronski into German.
this set consists of 10 scenarios in two versions: inconsistent and consistent.
in each scenario, participants were asked to determine whether a harmful action was appropriate to achieve a specific outcome.
in inconsistent scenarios, these results are generally beneficial, not harmful.
, however, because they require a harmful act to achieve, utilitarianism and the principle of obligation are opposed to each other.
, in parallel consistency scenarios, harmful behavior blocks undesirable events, but the end result is more harmful than beneficial.
therefore, such behaviour is unacceptable on the basis of utilitarian principles.
dilemma arises in the same fixed random order as in previous studies.
participants were asked to read each scenario and indicate whether they thought the course of action described was appropriate or inappropriate.
to give an answer, participants must click the "Yes" or "No" buttons with their mouse.
after each scenario, participants rated their decision-making difficulty using the Licht 5 scale (1 (very easy) to 5 (very difficult).
the subjects filled out a short demographic questionnaire and provided the first saliva sample for future hormone analysis.
, the electrodes used to evaluate electrostatization (ECG) and skin electrical activity (EDA) are connected and heart rate and EDA data are recorded during a 5-minute break. Participants judged harmful behavior in inconsistent scenarios to be more acceptable than harmful behavior in consistent scenarios (average s 61.3% ±15.31) (average s 17.8% ±9.96; t156 s 34.36, p testosterone is one of several interrelated decision-making factors, including moral judgment.
there may be subtle gender differences in its impact on potential ethical decision-makeing tendencies.
in men, testosterone is mainly associated with a decrease in the concept of obligation, while in women, testosterone is associated with an increase in utilitarianism.
both end up increasing recognition of harmful behavior at the behavioral level, but ultimately produce positive results.
Diana Armbruster, Clemens Kirschbaum, Alexander Strobel,Androgenic morality? Associations of sex, oral product use and basal testosterone levels with moral decision making, Behavioural Brain Research, 2021, 113196 MedSci Original Source: MedSci Original Copyright Notice: All noted on this website "Source: The text, images and audio and video materials of Metz Medicine or Source: MedSci Originals are owned by Metz Medicine and may not be reproduced by any media, website or individual without authorization, and shall be reproduced with the words "Source: Mets Medicine".
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