Moral Judgment in Civil Engineers: An Empirical Study of Brain Hemodynamic Activity

Mokhlespour Esfahani, Mahdiyar; Moradi, Alireza; Dadgostar, Mehrdad; Pourbaghi, Nooshin; Khanzadi, Mostafa

Volume 13, Issue 1 (Volume 13, Issue 1, Spring 2025 2025) CPJ 2025, 13(1): 0-0 | Back to browse issues page

Ethics code: (IR.IUMS.REC.1403.238)

Mendeley

Zotero

RefWorks

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

Moral Judgment in Civil Engineers: An Empirical Study of Brain Hemodynamic Activity

Mahdiyar Mokhlespour Esfahani

, 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: (1462 Views)

The aim of this study was to assess the moral development of civil engineers using Kohlberg’s moral dilemma stories alongside simultaneous recording of brain activity. Thirty right-handed male engineers with at least three years of professional experience participated in the study. Hemodynamic activity was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) across three phases: story reading, question answering, and prioritization. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results indicated that HbO2 levels in the right DLPFC and left VLPFC during story reading were significantly higher in engineers with higher moral judgment scores (p = 0.047 and p = 0.026). In the prioritization phase, Hb levels in the right VLPFC were significantly elevated in participants with lower moral scores (p = 0.015). These findings confirm the critical role of prefrontal regions in moral judgment processing, consistent with previous research. Although NIRS offers several advantages, its limited depth of measurement is a constraint. This study provides novel neurobiological evidence aligned with moral dilemma questionnaires, representing a step forward in predicting engineers’ moral development and enabling the use of brain data for artificial intelligence–based prediction. Future research is recommended to include female engineers, left-handed individuals, and broader brain regions.

Keywords: Brain mapping, Moral Dilemmas, Construction Industry, Hemodynamic brain activity, Stages of Moral Development

Full-Text [PDF 1029 kb] (120 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: psychology of human behavior
Received: 2025/04/6 | Accepted: 2025/06/21 | Published: 2025/07/27