1. The instrumental aggression of Schizophrenic criminal
offenders during moral decision-making
ANNA JO
BRAIN DYNAMICS LABORATORY
DEPT. OF BIO & BRAIN ENGINEERING
KAIST

2. Guilt, Social norm, and Aggression
Guilt: a natural but contested candidate for the sort of emotional sanction
for wrongdoing that might supply motivational force in dilemmas.
(by P.S. Greenspan)
Morality Ethics Social Norm
Social Norm
§ Customary rules of behavior that coordinate our interactions with others.
§ Norms and equilibria
§ Norm enforcement
§ Norms and efficiency
Crime Motivation Aggression
Introduction

3. Theory of moral judgment
(posed by Joshua Greene)
Deontological Utilitarian
moral judgments moral judgments
Moral Dilemma üConsequentialist
ü Rights, duties “Tension b/w
(driven by automatic ü Promoting the greater
moral
emotional responses) philosophies”
goods(driven by
cognitive process)
Emotion Reason
Dual Process
Moral Judgment
vmPFC DLPFC
Introduction

4. Moral Dilemmas and the “Trolley problem”
(posed by the philosophers Philippa Foot and Judith Jarvis Thomson)
To apply the methods of cognitive neuroscience to the study of moral judgment
“Switch” dilemma “Footbridge” dilemma
An alternate set of tracks where it An alternate set of tracks where it
will kill one person instead of five. will kill one person instead of five.
Introduction

5. An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgment
(Greene, J.D., Sommerville, R.B., Nystrom, L.E., Darley, J.M., Cohen, J.D. (2001) Science, 293, 2105–8.)
§ Brain scanning using fMRI to investigate the neural circuitry and the role of reason and emotion in moral judgment
§ Nine participants responded to each of 60 dilemmas by indicating whether they judged the action it proposes to be
“appropriate” or “inappropriate.”
§ Different brain areas in activity among the moral-personal, moral-impersonal, and non-moral conditions.
• whether to travel by bus or by train given certain time
Non- constraints
moral • which of two coupons to use at a store
• moral-personal: footbridge dilemma(more emotional)
Moral , crying baby dilemma(more difficult)
• moral-impersonal: switch dilemma(less emotional)
Background

6. Damage to the prefrontal cortex increases utilitarian moral judgments
(Adrian Raine and Yaling Yang(2006) Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience SCAN 1, 203–213)
§ Focal bilateral damage to the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex(VMPC), a brain region necessary for the normal generation of
emotions and, in particular, social emotions, produces an abnormally 'utilitarian' pattern of judgments on moral dilemma.
§ Patients with VMPC lesions exhibit generally diminished emotional responsivity and markedly reduced social emotions
§ Each 6 patient with adult-onset, focal bilateral VMPC lesions, neurologically normal,and brain-damaged comparison(BDC)
subjects.
Conclusion
§ The VMPC group's response differed only for personal moral
scenarios.
§ VMPC patients' judgments differed from comparison subjects' only
for high-conflict personal moral dilemma.
§ The VMPC patients' abnormally high rate of utilitarian judgments is
attributed to diminished social emotion
§ VMPC patients may exhibit short-temper, irritability, and anger.
Background

7. Neural foundations to moral reasoning and antisocial behavior
(Adrian Raine and Yaling Yang(2006) Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience SCAN 1, 203–213)
§ A common feature of the antisocial, rule-breaking behavior that is central to criminal, violent and psychopathic individuals
is the failure to follow moral guidelines.
§ Key areas found to be functionally or structurally impaired in antisocial populations include dorsal and ventral regions of
the prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala, hippocampus, angular gyrus, anterior cingulate and temporal cortex.
§ Regions most commonly activated in moral judgment tasks consist of the polar/medial and ventral PFC, amygdala, angular
gyrus and posterior cingulate.
Conclusion
§ Brain areas associated with both moral reasoning and antisocial
behavior significantly overlap;
§ The rule-breaking, immoral behavior of antisocial and psychopathic
individuals may in part be due to impairments in those brain regions
subserving moral cognition and emotion;
§ While impairments to the moral emotional system may be primary in
anti-socials, disruption of moral cognitive and cognitive-emotional
systems are also possible.
Background

8. Main questions to investigate instrumental aggression during
moral dilemmas in behavioral experiment
Goal
i. Using classic moral dilemmas to identify behavioral influences such as reaction time and skin
conductance underlying moral decision-making in schizophrenic criminal offenders.
ii. Investigating the issue of instrumental aggression to prove a dual-process theory of moral
judgment from utilitarian perspective(endorsing harmful actions that promote the greater good)
Assumption
§Functionally or structurally impaired in antisocial populations include dorsal and ventral regions of the prefrontal cortex
(PFC), amygdala, hippocampus, angular gyrus, anterior cingulate and temporal cortex.
§ Regions most commonly activated in moral judgment tasks consist of the polar/medial and ventral PFC, amygdala, angular
gyrus and posterior cingulate.
§ Impairments to the emotional component that comprises the feeling of what is moral are viewed as the primary deficit in
anti-socials, although some disruption to the cognitive and cognitive-emotional components of morality.
The Aim of Study

9. Experiment: The significance of study
Interpersonal Factor
- glib, superficially charming
- callous, manipulative
- pathological lying
- grandiose sense of self worth
Lifestyle factor Affective Factor
- stimulation seeking - lack of remorse or guilt
- impulsive, irresponsible
Instrumental - shallow affect
- parasitic lifestyle Aggression - callous, lacking empathy
- lack of realistic goals - failure to accept responsibility
Antisocial factor
- poor behavioral controls
- early behavior problems
- juvenile delinquency
- revocation of conditional release
- criminal versatility
Experiment Analysis