High moral reasoning associated with increased activity in the human brain's reward system.

The more research we have, the more important the dopamine reward system becomes for every aspect of our lives. A brilliant new study adds more weight to this.

What the researchers say: According to a new study individuals who have a high level of moral reasoning show increased activity in the brain's frontostriatal reward system (the striatum is a region of the brain within the limbic system which is important for aspects of trust, relationship, dopamine reward and addiction), both during periods of rest and while performing a sequential risk taking and decision making task. The findings,  published in the journal Scientific Reports, help us to understand how brain function differs in individuals at different stages of moral reasoning and why some individuals who reach a high level of moral reasoning are more likely to engage in certain “prosocial” behaviors—such as performing community service or giving to charity—based on more advanced principles and ethical rules.

The study refers to Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development theory which proposes that individuals go through different stages of moral reasoning as their cognitive abilities mature. According to the researchers, Kohlberg's theory implies that individuals at a lower level of moral reasoning are more prone to judge moral issues primarily based on personal interests or adherence to laws and rules, whereas individuals with higher levels of moral reasoning judge moral issues based on deeper principles and shared ideals (this is the essence of a functional “tribe”).

The researchers' previous work found an association between high levels of moral reasoning and gray matter volume, establishing a critical link between moral reasoning and brain structure. This study sought to discover whether a link exists between moral reasoning and brain function.

To answer this question, they tested moral reasoning in a large sample of more than 700 individuals and looked at the brain reward system activity in a subset of 64 others, both with and without doing a task. According the senior author of the study the team observed considerable individual differences in moral development levels and brain among the subjects.

 “To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate the modulation effect of moral reasoning level on human brain reward system activity. Findings from our study provide new insights into the potential neural basis and underlying psychological processing mechanism of individual differences in moral development,” he explained

The finding of increased brain reward system activity in individuals at a high level of moral reasoning suggests the importance of positive motivations towards others in moral reasoning development, rather than selfish motives. These findings also support Kohlberg's theory that higher levels of moral reasoning tend to be promotion and other-focused (do it because it is right) rather than prevention or self-focused (do not do it because it is wrong).

“Our study documents brain function differences associated with higher and lower levels of moral reasoning. It is still unclear whether the observed brain function differences are the cause or the result of differential levels of moral reasoning,” explained the researchers. “However, we believe that both factors of nurture, such as education, parental socialization and life experience, and factors of nature, like biological or evolutionary basis, the innate capacities of the mind, and the genetic basis may contribute to individual differences in moral development.”

The researchers say future studies could expand on this work by assessing to what extent individual differences in moral reasoning development depend on in-born differences or learned experience, and whether education can further promote moral reasoning stage in individuals even past the age at which structural and functional brain maturation is complete (the mid-to-late teens).

So what? It would seem from this study that those people who have a dysfunctional reward system—those that are unable to uptake sufficient dopamine in the ventral (frontal) striatum—would be less able to be ethical in the sense that the researchers are talking about. This has profound implications for risk, leadership, relational stability and a whole range of other aspects of corporate and non-corporate life.

For example we know that those whose dopamine reward system does not work properly will turn to self-and-other destructive behaviors to try to boost their level of happiness. All addictions—alcoholism, workaholism, addictive shopping, drug taking, addictive gambling, much fraud and criminal activity, most failed relationships, bullying etc. etc.—are all based on a dopamine uptake  failure.

Research has shown that each can, and almost inevitably will, lead to a failure of moral judgement. Each also has a genetic base since the receptor genes that control dopamine and oxytocin uptake in the striatum are also implicated all of these behaviors—it may be that people are either born with a propensity to be moral in the higher sense of the word, or not.

Some recent research has also shown that there is a close association between depression and addiction, which would make sense since happiness itself is a product of dopamine uptake. Research has also shown that depressed or excessively anxious individuals also tend to be more self-centered, and thus less prone to take the welfare of others into account.

Interestingly successful Wall Street traders—and others in similar professions—have only moderate levels of dopamine. On the basis of this study they would, perhaps, tend to be less ethical than those whose reward system was more functional.