PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
This study investigated the role of cognitive control in moral decision-making, focusing on conflicts between financial temptations and the integrity of honesty. We employed a perceptual task by asking participants to identify which side of the diagonal contained more red dots within a square to provoke both honest and dishonest behaviors, tracking their reaction times (RTs). Participants encountered situations with no conflict, ambiguous conflict, and clear conflict. Their behaviors in the clear conflict condition categorized them as either \"honest\" or \"dishonest.\" Our findings suggested that, in ambiguous conflict situations, honest individuals had significantly longer RTs and fewer self-interest responses than their dishonest counterparts, suggesting a greater need for cognitive control to resolve conflicts and a lesser tendency toward self-interest. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between participants\' number of self-interest responses and RTs in ambiguous conflict situations (r = -0.27 in study 1 and r = -0.66 in study 2), and a positive correlation with cheating numbers in clear conflict situations (r = 0.36 in study 1 and r = 0.82 in study 2). This suggests less cognitive control was required for self-interest and cheating responses, bolstering the \"Will\" hypothesis. We also found that a person\'s self-interest tendency could predict their dishonest behavior. These insights extend our understanding of the role of cognitive control plays in honesty and dishonesty, with potential applications in education, policy-making, and business ethics.
摘要：
这项研究调查了认知控制在道德决策中的作用，关注财务诱惑与诚信之间的冲突。我们通过要求参与者识别对角线的哪一侧在正方形内包含更多的红点来挑起诚实和不诚实的行为来进行感知任务，跟踪他们的反应时间(RT)。参与者遇到没有冲突的情况，模棱两可的冲突，明确的冲突。他们在明确的冲突条件下的行为将他们归类为“诚实”或“不诚实”。“我们的研究结果表明，在模糊的冲突局势中，诚实的人比不诚实的人有明显更长的RT和更少的自利反应，这表明更需要认知控制来解决冲突，而更少的倾向于自我利益。此外，在模糊的冲突情况下，参与者的自利反应数量和RTs之间存在负相关(研究1中r=-0.27，研究2中r=-0.66)，在明确的冲突情况下，与作弊数量呈正相关（研究1中r=0.36，研究2中r=0.82）。这表明自我利益和作弊反应需要较少的认知控制，支持“意志”假设。我们还发现，一个人的自利倾向可以预测他们的不诚实行为。这些见解扩展了我们对认知控制在诚实和不诚实中的作用的理解，在教育中的潜在应用，决策,和商业道德。
