Emotion-based Learning Systems and the Development of Morality

Overview

Journal Cognition

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Psychology

Date 2017 Apr 12

PMID 28395907

Citations 20

Authors

R J R Blair

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In this paper it is proposed that important components of moral development and moral judgment rely on two forms of emotional learning: stimulus-reinforcement and response-outcome learning. Data in support of this position will be primarily drawn from work with individuals with the developmental condition of psychopathy as well as fMRI studies with healthy individuals. Individuals with psychopathy show impairment on moral judgment tasks and a pronounced increased risk for instrumental antisocial behavior. It will be argued that these impairments are developmental consequences of impaired stimulus-aversive conditioning on the basis of distress cue reinforcers and response-outcome learning in individuals with this disorder.

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