Schooler, L., et al. (2024).
Collabra Psychology, 10(1).
Abstract
Moral decision-making typically involves trade-offs between moral values and self-interest. While previous research on the psychological mechanisms underlying moral decision-making has primarily focused on what people choose, less is known about how an individual consciously evaluates the choices they make. This sense of having made the right decision is known as subjective confidence. We investigated how subjective confidence is constructed across two moral contexts. In Study 1 (240 U.S. participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk, 81 female), participants made hypothetical decisions between choices with monetary profits for themselves and physical harm for either themselves or another person. In Study 2 (369 U.S. participants from Prolific, 176 female), participants made incentive-compatible decisions between choices with monetary profits for themselves and monetary harm for either themselves or another person. In both studies, each choice was followed by a subjective confidence rating. We used a computational model to obtain a trial-by-trial measure of participant-specific subjective value in decision-making and related this to subjective confidence ratings. Across all types of decisions, confidence was positively associated with the absolute difference in subjective value between the two options. Specific to the moral decision-making context, choices that are typically seen as more blameworthy – i.e., causing more harm to an innocent person to benefit oneself – suppressed the effects of increasing profit on confidence, while amplifying the dampening effect of harm on confidence. These results illustrate some potential cognitive mechanisms underlying subjective confidence in moral decision-making and highlighted both shared and distinct cognitive features relative to non-moral value-based decision-making.
Here are some thoughts:
The article explores how individuals form a sense of confidence in their moral choices, particularly in situations involving trade-offs between personal gain and causing harm. Rather than focusing solely on what people choose, the research delves into how confident people feel about the decisions they make—what is known as subjective confidence. Importantly, this confidence is not only influenced by the perceived value of the options but also by the moral implications of the choice itself. When people make decisions that benefit themselves at the expense of others, particularly when the action is considered morally blameworthy, their sense of confidence tends to decrease. Conversely, decisions that are morally neutral or praiseworthy are associated with greater subjective certainty. In this way, the moral weight of a decision appears to shape how individuals internally evaluate the quality of their choices.
For mental health professionals, these findings carry significant implications. Understanding how confidence is constructed in the context of moral decision-making can deepen insight into clients’ struggles with guilt, shame, indecision, and moral injury. Often, clients question not just what they did, but whether they made the "right" decision—morally and personally. This research highlights that moral self-evaluation is complex and sensitive to both the outcomes and the perceived ethical nature of one’s actions. It also suggests that people are more confident in decisions that affect themselves than those that impact others, which may help explain patterns of self-doubt or moral rumination in therapy. Additionally, for clinicians themselves—who frequently navigate ethically ambiguous situations—recognizing how subjective confidence is shaped by moral context can support reflective practice, supervision, and ethical decision-making. Ultimately, this research adds depth to our understanding of how people process and live with the choices they make, and how these internal evaluations may guide future behavior and psychological well-being.