Instrumental harm and impartial beneficence distinctively frame cognitive representations of moral decision problems.
Identification
- Public canonical key
- radar:r-48e1e17d4e5ce423cc8798be0d07b81f
- Authors
- Yoonseo Zoh · Hongbo Yu · Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta · Annayah Miranda Beatrice Prosser · Matthew A J Apps · Walter P. Sinnott-Armstrong · Steve W. C. Chang · Molly J. Crockett
- Reported year
- 2025
- Reported language
- en
- Source type
- article
- First detected
- 2026-11-14T02:03:44.263615+00:00
- Last metadata observation
- 2026-11-14T02:03:44.263615+00:00
- Last HTTP verification
- Not checked
Institutions reported by the source
Princeton University · Yale University · University of Birmingham · University of Bath · Duke University
Reported affiliation countries
GB · US
Documentary abstract — original language
Utilitarian ethical theories argue that the morality of actions depends on their consequences for impartially maximizing overall welfare. Recent research suggests that individual differences in utilitarian tendencies fall along two dimensions: a permissive attitude toward harming others for greater good (instrumental harm [IH]) and an impartial concern for others' welfare (impartial beneficence [IB]). We hypothesize that these dimensions operate as intuitive theories in the moral domain, framing distinctive patterns of moral judgments and behavior. Using intersubject representational similarity analysis of behavioral data (N = 254), we found that when participants shared endorsement of instrumental harm or impartial beneficence, they showed similar patterns of moral judgment and decision making. Intersubject representational similarity analysis of functional neuroimaging data (N = 68) revealed that participants with similar endorsement of instrumental harm or impartial beneficence showed similar neural encoding of moral choice attributes, even when they made different choices. Meanwhile, participants with dissimilar endorsement of these dimensions showed distinctive neural encoding of moral choice attributes, even when they made similar choices. These similarity and dissimilarity patterns emerged in distinct brain regions for instrumental harm and impartial beneficence. Together, our findings suggest that instrumental harm and impartial beneficence distinctively frame cognitive representations of moral decision problems, over and above guiding judgments and decisions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
Identifiers
- OPENALEX
- https://openalex.org/W4416292702
- DOI
- 10.1037/xge0001820
- PMID
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41213577
Documentary context
- Documentary family
- article
- Source-reported types
- article
- Publishers
- American Psychological Association
Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.
Sources
OpenAlex · Record 1
Cite this reference
Yoonseo Zoh; Hongbo Yu; Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta; Annayah Miranda Beatrice Prosser; Matthew A J Apps; Walter P. Sinnott-Armstrong; Steve W. C. Chang; Molly J. Crockett. Instrumental harm and impartial beneficence distinctively frame cognitive representations of moral decision problems.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001820
JSON · CSL-JSON · BibTeX · RIS · CSV · JSON-LD ·
APA, Chicago, ISO 690: bibliographic formats using available fields. OSCOLA / Bluebook: structured data only; full legal citation compliance is not claimed without verification of required elements.
- APA
- Yoonseo Zoh; Hongbo Yu; Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta; Annayah Miranda Beatrice Prosser; Matthew A J Apps; Walter P. Sinnott-Armstrong; Steve W. C. Chang; Molly J. Crockett. (2025). Instrumental harm and impartial beneficence distinctively frame cognitive representations of moral decision problems.. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001820
- Chicago
- Yoonseo Zoh; Hongbo Yu; Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta; Annayah Miranda Beatrice Prosser; Matthew A J Apps; Walter P. Sinnott-Armstrong; Steve W. C. Chang; Molly J. Crockett. Instrumental harm and impartial beneficence distinctively frame cognitive representations of moral decision problems.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001820
- ISO 690
- Yoonseo Zoh; Hongbo Yu; Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta; Annayah Miranda Beatrice Prosser; Matthew A J Apps; Walter P. Sinnott-Armstrong; Steve W. C. Chang; Molly J. Crockett. Instrumental harm and impartial beneficence distinctively frame cognitive representations of moral decision problems.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001820
Warning: Undefined array key "last_link_verified" in /home/clients/e27d81e12f04d2bfd747aa264540ac56/sites/_UDTR_APP/legal_library_reference.php on line 31
UDTR Global Rights of Nature Legal Library. Instrumental harm and impartial beneficence distinctively frame cognitive representations of moral decision problems.. Documentary record: https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-48e1e17d4e5ce423cc8798be0d07b81f/ · Last HTTP verification: not performed
Research dossiers and documentary relations
Source roles
Bibliographic / original publication source · https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001820
An authority link alone does not verify a legal claim. Abstracts and full texts remain subject to their source terms.
Documentary status
Relevance pending
Library
This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.