Files
Abstract
Two types of affect have been reported to affect the moral decision-making process and its subsequent outcomes. The influence of integral affect, affect that directly relates to a specific decision, is largely understudied compared to incidental affect, affect that is unrelated to a particular decision. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by explicitly measuring the presence of integral emotions in the moral decision-making process. An online sample of undergraduate university students (N = 241) were presented a series of moral or non-moral dilemmas and completed multiple iterations of a scale measuring positive and negative affect and other affective states. Results indicated participants who faced moral dilemmas reported higher general negative affect and lower general positive affect over time compared to participants who faced non-moral dilemmas. Additionally, participants who faced either dilemma reported various changes in specific positive and negative emotions over time.