Gender differences in neural mechanisms underlying moral sensitivity
Gender differences in neural mechanisms underlying moral sensitivity
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DOI：
10.1093/scan/nsn026
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发表时间：
2008-12-01
影响因子：
4.2
通讯作者：
Kiehl, Kent A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Harenski, Carla L.;Antonenko, Olga;Kiehl, Kent A.
研究人员提出，女性和男性的道德态度结构存在差异，女性倾向于采取基于关怀的道德评价，而男性倾向于采用基于正义的道德评价。这些性别差异的存在仍然是一个有争议的问题，因为行为研究报告了不同的结果。目前的研究调查了女性和男性道德敏感度的神经相关性，以检验这样的假设：在评估道德刺激时，女性与基于护理的处理相关的大脑区域（后扣带回、前扣带回、前岛叶）相对于男性会表现出更高的活动，而男性相对于女性，与基于正义的处理相关的区域（颞上沟）会表现出更高的活动。 28 名参与者（14 名女性）在观看令人不快的图片时使用功能磁共振成像进行扫描，其中一半描绘了道德违规行为，并根据他们认为存在的道德违规程度对每张图片进行了评分。正如预测的那样，相对于男性，女性在观看图片和随后的道德评分期间，后扣带皮层和岛叶活动之间表现出更强的调节关系。相对于女性，男性在下顶叶活动和道德评级之间表现出更强的调节关系。这些结果表明道德评估中使用的策略存在性别差异。
Researchers have proposed that females and males differ in the structure of their moral attitudes, such that females tend to adopt care-based moral evaluations and males tend to adopt justice-based moral evaluations. The existence of these gender differences remains a controversial issue, as behavioral studies have reported mixed findings. The current study investigated the neural correlates of moral sensitivity in females and males, to test the hypothesis that females would show increased activity in brain regions associated with care-based processing (posterior and anterior cingulate, anterior insula) relative to males when evaluating moral stimuli, and males would show increased activity in regions associated with justice-based processing (superior temporal sulcus) relative to females. Twenty-eight participants (14 females) were scanned using fMRI while viewing unpleasant pictures, half of which depicted moral violations, and rated each picture on the degree of moral violation that they judged to be present. As predicted, females showed a stronger modulatory relationship between posterior cingulate and insula activity during picture viewing and subsequent moral ratings relative to males. Males showed a stronger modulatory relationship between inferior parietal activity and moral ratings relative to females. These results are suggestive of gender differences in strategies utilized in moral appraisals.