Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

Alcohol, empathy, and morality : acute effects of alcohol consumption on affective empathy and moral decision-making

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Francis, Kathryn B., Gummerum, Michaela, Ganis, Giorgio, Howard, Ian S. and Terbeck, Sylvia (2019) Alcohol, empathy, and morality : acute effects of alcohol consumption on affective empathy and moral decision-making. Psychopharmacology . doi:10.1007/s00213-019-05314-z (In Press)

[img]
Preview
PDF
WRAP-alcohol-empathy-morality-consumption-decision-making-Gummerum-2019.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer.
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (1374Kb) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-019-05314-z

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

Hypothetical moral dilemmas, pitting characteristically utilitarian and non-utilitarian outcomes against each other, have played a central role in investigations of moral decision-making. Preferences for utilitarian over non-utilitarian responses have been explained by two contrasting hypotheses; one implicating increased deliberative reasoning, and the other implicating diminished harm aversion. In recent field experiments, these hypotheses have been investigated using alcohol intoxication to impair both social and cognitive functioning. These studies have found increased utilitarian responding, arguably as a result of alcohol impairing affective empathy. The present research expands existing investigations by examining the acute effects of alcohol on affective empathy and subsequent moral judgments in traditional vignettes and moral actions in virtual reality, as well as physiological responses in moral dilemmas. Participants (N = 48) were administered either a placebo or alcohol in one of two dosages; low or moderate. Higher dosages of alcohol consumption resulted in inappropriate empathic responses to facial displays of emotion, mirroring responses of individuals high in trait psychopathy, but empathy for pain was unaffected. While affective empathy was influenced by alcohol consumption in a facial responding task, both moral judgments and moral actions were unaffected, suggesting that facets, beyond or in addition to deficits in affective empathy, might influence the relationship between alcohol consumption and utilitarian endorsements.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Faculty of Science > Psychology
Journal or Publication Title: Psychopharmacology
Publisher: Springer
ISSN: 0033-3158
Official Date: 9 July 2019
Dates:
DateEvent
9 July 2019Available
30 June 2019Accepted
Date of first compliant deposit: 21 October 2019
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05314-z
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: In Press
Access rights to Published version: Open Access
Copyright Holders: Springer

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us