The OXTR rs53576 impacts moral permissibility of attempted but failed harms in populations of students and prisoners

Previous research has highlighted the roles of oxytocin in empathy and altruistic behaviors. Based on these findings, recent studies have examined the association between the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and outcome-based moral judgment with sacrificial dilemmas (e.g. runaway trolley case). However...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 2022-10, Vol.17 (10), p.923-928
Main Authors: He, Linlin, Liu, Jinting, Fan, Yuhe, Leng, Junhui, Wang, Quanhe, Yang, Cuimei, Zhang, Rui, Guo, Wenxuan, Zhang, Jieting, Gong, Pingyuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College students
Ethical aspects
Light rail transit
Original Manuscript
Prisoners
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Summary:Previous research has highlighted the roles of oxytocin in empathy and altruistic behaviors. Based on these findings, recent studies have examined the association between the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and outcome-based moral judgment with sacrificial dilemmas (e.g. runaway trolley case). However, little is known about the relationships between OXTR polymorphisms and intent-based moral judgment of harms (e.g. attempted but failed harm or intentionally committed harm). This study investigated the association between the OXTR rs53576 and intent-based moral judgment in college students (N = 544) and prisoners (N = 540). Results indicated that both students and prisoners with the GG genotype of OXTR rs53576 rated attempted but failed harm as less permissible than those with the AA and AG genotypes. These findings highlight the role of the OXTR gene in intent-based moral judgment.
ISSN:1749-5016
1749-5024
DOI:10.1093/scan/nsac015