Androgenic morality? Associations of sex, oral contraceptive use and basal testosterone levels with moral decision making

Aside from cultural, psychological, or situational factors, differences in moral judgements might also be influenced by biological variables. Since previous studies have reported stronger utilitarian tendencies in men, the relationship between testosterone and moral judgments has gained interest. Utilitarian judgements focus on the consequences of an action in terms of a cost-benefit analysis while deontological judgements are based on rules that are independent of an action?s outcome or of situational features. We investigated decisions in moral dilemma situations in N = 157 young adults using a process dissociation approach to allow an independent estimate of underlying utilitarianism and deontology. Significant effects of sex (p = .009) and endocrine status (p = .011) on utilitarianism were found with the highest levels in men and the lowest in free cycling women while oral contraceptive users fell in between. Furthermore, there were correlations of salivary testosterone with utilitarianism in free cycling women (r = .303) and with deontology in men (r = -0.263) while no significant associations between testosterone and moral choices were found in oral contraceptive users. However, the duration of contraceptive use correlated negatively with deontology (r = -.316). The findings underscore the role of sex, endocrine status as well as testosterone in moral judgements but also point to specific associations depending on sex and oral contraceptive use.

Automated summary

Gender and endocrine status have significant effects on moral judgments, with men showing stronger utilitarian tendencies and free cycling women showing stronger deontological tendencies. Testosterone levels are correlated with moral judgments, but the specific associations vary depending on gender and oral contraceptive use.