Volume 13, Issue 1 (Volume 13, Issue 1, Spring 2025 2025)
CPJ 2025, 13(1): 0-0 |
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Ethics code: (IR.IUMS.REC.1403.238)
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Mokhlespour Esfahani M, Moradi A, Dadgostar M, Pourbaghi N, Khanzadi M. Moral Judgment in Civil Engineers: An Empirical Study of Brain Hemodynamic Activity. CPJ 2025; 13 (1)
URL: http://jcp.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3922-en.html
URL: http://jcp.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3922-en.html
Mahdiyar Mokhlespour Esfahani 
, Alireza Moradi , Mehrdad Dadgostar , Nooshin Pourbaghi , Mostafa Khanzadi *
, Alireza Moradi , Mehrdad Dadgostar , Nooshin Pourbaghi , Mostafa Khanzadi *
Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran. , khanzadi@iust.ac.ir
Abstract: (139 Views)
Adhering to ethical principles in construction projects is one of the most fundamental elements for achieving project goals. This research aimed to assess civil engineers' moral development level using Kohlberg's moral dilemmas while simultaneously recording brain data. Thirty right-handed male engineers with at least three years of practical experience participated in the study. Their hemodynamic brain activity was monitored using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during three phases: reading the stories, answering questions, and prioritizing. The results were analyzed using a non-parametric Mann-Whitney statistical test, revealing a significant difference in the levels of HbO2 in the right DLPFC and the left VLPFC while reading the stories, between engineers with better and poorer moral judgment (p = 0.047 and p = 0.026, respectively). This activity in the mentioned regions was greater for engineers with better scores. Also, it was found that in the prioritization phase, the level of Hb in the right VLPFC was significantly higher in the group with low-ethics scores (p = 0.015). The findings indicate the key role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in processing conflicts and moral judgments, which aligns with previous research. Despite the numerous advantages of NIRS, this method has limitations in measuring the depth of brain activity. It is suggested that future research include female engineers, left-handed individuals, and additional brain regions. Therefore, this study represents a novel step in predicting the moral level of engineers using hemodynamic brain data, providing biological evidence consistent with the results of the moral dilemma questionnaires and enabling the prediction of the moral development level of civil engineers using artificial intelligence.
Keywords: Brain mapping, Moral Dilemmas, Construction Industry, Hemodynamic brain activity, Stages of Moral Development
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
psychology of human behavior
Received: 2025/04/6 | Accepted: 2025/06/21 | Published: 2025/07/27
Received: 2025/04/6 | Accepted: 2025/06/21 | Published: 2025/07/27
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