Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Graham, Steven

Keywords

Anxiety, Morals, Emotions, Personality

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

The human ability to transform our preferences into abstract values, also known as moralization (Rozin, 1999), has influenced how people view and perceive the actions of others, and continuously shapes our culture. Numerous studies have found that manipulating emotion, particularly negative valences, has an effect on moral judgment and decision making (Valdesolo & Desteno, 2006). Feelings of stress or anxiety have also been shown to have an effect on decision-making in humans (Perkins et al., 2012; Starke & Brand, 2012). In addition, personality traits have been linked to both anxiety and moral judgment (Gao & Tang, 2013; Grant & Langan-Fox, 2006). The current study aims to bring these findings together and to examine personality as a predictor of anxiety and coping levels, as well as its effect on utilitarian decision making during moral dilemmas. Forty-one undergraduate students were recruited and randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Upon experiencing a modification of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum, Pirke, & Hellhammer, 1993), the experimental group was analyzed for changes in state anxiety and whether or not if this correlated with their responses on the Big Five Inventory (John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991), or on the popular Trolley Problem (Foot, 1967). Results indicated that the modified TSST reliably induced stress/anxiety in the experimental condition. There was a significant increase in anxiety from pre-test to post-test anxiety in the experimental condition, as well as a significant difference in the post-test anxiety scores between both conditions. Further results also confirmed high rates of utilitarian decisions in the trolley problem, but no significant personality differences from those who did not pull the lever. The implications of these findings can help to further research on how anxiety disorders affect individuals’ decision-making and coping skills.

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