ArticleBMC psychology2024
Pulling the lever in a hurry: the influence of impulsivity and sensitivity to reward on moral decision-making under time pressure.
Article in BMC psychology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- The influence of self-relevance under time pressure on moral decision-making.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Assessing moral competence in medical and psychology students: effects on anxiety and test duration in online versus paper-based testing.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Risk-Taking Facilitates Implicit Learning in Young Adults.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Can anticipated regret promote rationality? The influence of anticipated regret on risk aversion and choice satisfaction.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMaking timely moral decisions can save a life. However, literature on how moral decisions are made under time pressure reports conflicting results. Moreover, it is unclear whether and how moral choices under time pressure may be influenced by personality traits like impulsivity and sensitivity to reward and punishment.
methodsTo address these gaps, in this study we employed a moral dilemma task, manipulating decision time between participants: one group (N = 25) was subjected to time pressure (TP), with 8 s maximum time for response (including the reading time), the other (N = 28) was left free to take all the time to respond (noTP). We measured type of choice (utilitarian vs. non-utilitarian), decision times, self-reported unpleasantness and arousal during decision-making, and participants' impulsivity and BIS-BAS sensitivity.
resultsWe found no group effect on the type of choice, suggesting that time pressure per se did not influence moral decisions. However, impulsivity affected the impact of time pressure, in that individuals with higher cognitive instability showed slower response times under no time constraint. In addition, higher sensitivity to reward predicted a higher proportion of utilitarian choices regardless of the time available for decision.
conclusionsResults are discussed within the dual-process theory of moral judgement, revealing that the impact of time pressure on moral decision-making might be more complex and multifaceted than expected, potentially interacting with a specific facet of attentional impulsivity.
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