How do we decide what is right or wrong? And how are these decisions shaped?

In this episode, Franziska speaks with Aiste Ambrase, doctoral researcher in the research group Women’s Mental Health and Brain Function at the University of Tübingen, about the fascinating and complex world of moral decision-making.

Bringing together moral philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, Aiste explores how people make difficult value-based choices, why classic moral dilemmas only tell part of the story, and why research in this field faces major methodological challenges. We talk about what moral trade-offs can reveal about human behavior, why the idea of a simple “moral brain” is far more complicated than it sounds, and what current neuroscience can actually tell us. The episode also turns to an important and often neglected question: Whether neurotransmitter systems, sex differences and hormones may play a role in how we make difficult moral choices.

This conversation is an invitation to think more deeply about morality, decision-making, and the scientific challenges of studying both.

If you would like to get in touch with Aiste, you can find her here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aiste-ambrase/

https://www.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/de/das-klinikum/mitarbeiter/profil/3094

... or reach out to: [email protected]

Timestamps:

00:26 Introduction of our guest Aiste Ambrase

01:46 Background on moral decision-making

06:50 Moral interest theories

08:10 Prohibitive norms vs. prescriptive norms

10:15 Moral trade-offs and examples in everyday life

13:50 Morality research and the "Trolley dilemma"

22:50 Cognitive biases and other processes

24:20 Moral injury: Influence of the behavioral gap on mental health

25:50 The Oxford Utilitarianism Scale

30:50 Challenges of neuroscience research on moral decision-making

33:00 Morality in the brain?

36:34 Different neuroimaging approaches on moral decision-making

47:20 Neural networks of moral decision-making

49:50 Sex differences in moral decision-making?

51:20 Influence of hormones and neurotransmitters on moral decision-making

57:10 Moral decision-making across the female lifespan

01:01:04 What should future research on moral decision-making look like?

01:04:50 Thank you and wrap-up

Outline & questions: Franziska Weinmar

Sound recording & Editing: Franziska Weinmar with the equipment of the IRTG2804

Do you have any feedback, suggestions, or questions? Get in touch with us: [email protected]

Are you intrigued by this topic and want to be kept updated? Follow us on twitter: @irtg2804 or instagram: @irtg2804

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.