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Abstract Moral Decisions Are Unchanged After Oxytocin Administration

Saad Bashir,Yilong Wang,Michael D. Krouse,William D. Casebeer,Sheila Ahmadi,Paul J Zak

Published 2026 in Kyklos (Basel)

ABSTRACT

Western institutions are based on the impartial applications of the law. Yet, many legal decisions are replete with emotionally laden choices, including issues of life and death. In these cases, judges and juries are presumed to be able to make rational decisions by regulating their emotions. Two experiments were run to examine people's ability to make hypothetical life and death decisions as well as stages of moral development when emotional responses were manipulated pharmacologically using synthetic oxytocin administration ( N  = 81). The analysis showed that, relative to placebo, oxytocin did not affect abstract moral decisions of the “trolley car” type or influence moral development. These findings indicate that human beings are able to self‐regulate when assessing abstract moral dilemmas, providing support for the design and functioning of Western civilization.

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