Reexamining the role of intent in moral judgements of purity violations

Perceived intent is a pivotal factor in moral judgement: intentional moral violations are considered more morally wrong than accidental ones. However, a body of recent research argues that intent is less important for moral judgements of impure acts-that it, those acts that are condemned because they elicit disgust. But the literature supporting this claim is limited in multiple ways. We conducted a new test of the hypothesis that condemnation of purity violations operates independently from intent. In Study 1, participants judged the wrongness of moral violations that were either intentional or unintentional and were either harmful (e.g., stealing) or impure (e.g., public defecation). Results revealed a large effect of intent on moral wrongness ratings that did not vary across harmful and disgusting scenarios. In Study 2, a registered report, participants judged the wrongness of disgust-eliciting moral violations that were either mundane and dyadic (e.g., serving contaminated food) or abnormal and self-directed (e.g., consuming urine). Results revealed a large effect of intent on moral wrongness judgements that did not vary across mundane and abnormal scenarios. Findings challenge the claim that moral judgements about purity violations rely upon unique psychological mechanisms that are insensitive to information about the wrongdoer's mental state

On the emotions linked to morality

Thesis advisor: James A. RussellTheories in moral psychology propose a link between emotions and moral judgments. This dissertation presents a series of studies examining whether different discrete emotions are each linked to a different discrete moral content. Some of the studies tested a proposal called CAD: an acronym for the theory that contempt is linked to violations in the community domain (C), anger is linked to violations in the autonomy domain (A), and disgust is linked to violations in the divinity domain (D). Other studies further focused on the emotion disgust: Whether acts or issues that remind humans of their animal nature elicit disgust and whether the English concept of disgust refers to a single emotional experience pan-culturally. In most of the studies we recruited participants both from America and from India (N = 3893). The findings challenged any clean mappings between different discrete emotions and different contents of moral violations. Instead, moral violations were associated with a range of negative emotions rather than with a specific one. There was no support for the hypothesis that acts or issues that remind us of our animal nature elicit disgust, and the English concept disgust, as referring to unclean substances and moral violations, is equivalent to similar concepts in two Indian languages.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Psychology

Radiolabeled cholesteryl ethers: A need to analyze for biological stability before use

Radiolabeled cholesteryl ethers are widely used as non-metabolizable tracers for lipoproteins and lipid emulsions in a variety of in vitro and in vivo experiments. Since cholesteryl ethers do not leave cells after uptake and are not hydrolyzed by mammalian cellular enzymes, these compounds can act as markers for cumulative cell uptakes of labeled particles. We have employed [3H]cholesteryl oleoyl ether to study the uptake and distribution of triglyceride-rich emulsion particles on animal models. However, questionable unexpected results compelled us to analyze the stability of these ethers. We tested the stability of two commercially available radiolabeled cholesteryl ethers - [3H]cholesteryl oleoyl ether and [3H]cholesteryl hexadecyl ether from different suppliers, employing in vitro, in vivo and chemical model systems. Our results show that, among the two cholesteryl ethers tested, one ether was hydrolyzed to free cholesterol in vitro, in vivo and chemically under alkaline hydrolyzing agent. Free cholesterol, unlike cholesteryl ether, can then re-enter the circulation leading to confounding results. The other ether was not hydrolyzed to free cholesterol and remained as a stable ether. Hence, radiolabeled cholesteryl ethers should be analyzed for biological stability before utilizing them for in vitro or in vivo experiments. Keywords: Cholesteryl ether, J774 A2 macrophages, Soy oil emulsion, Thin layer chromatography, triDHA emulsio

Epigallocatechin gallate protects BEAS-2B cells from lipopolysaccharide-induced apoptosis through upregulation of gastrin-releasing peptide

Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) plays a major role in the development and maintenance of lung epithelial cells by promoting cell division, whereas its suppression causes growth arrest and apoptosis. The present study shows that human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an endotoxin from gram-negative bacteria, downregulated GRP expression and induced apoptosis via upregulation of p53 and active caspase-3, signifying the importance of GRP in lung epithelial cell survival. However, in the presence of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a polyphenol in green tea, BEAS-2B cells resisted LPS-induced apoptosis and restored the expression of GRP and its downstream effectors such as epidermal growth factor receptor and NF-kappa B, as analysed by immunoblotting and qPCR. Based on our findings, we objectify that cytoprotective functions of EGCG, via upregulation of GRP in cells challenged with LPS, are novel and can be further explored in a therapeutic point of view for diseases such as septic shock

On the set of emotions with facial signals

Which, if any, emotions have a facial signal? Studies from AI to Zoology sometimes presuppose an answer to this question. According to one important and influential research program, the basic (fundamental and discrete) emotions can be identified by their possession of a biologically based unique and universally recognized facial signal. To the classic set of six such emotions, researchers recently advanced 12 new candidates, which were examined in the present study with a standard free-labeling procedure in three samples: English-speaking Americans (n = 200), Mandarin-speaking Chinese (n = 101), and Malayalam-speaking Indians (n = 200). In the three samples, respectively, a majority of respondents chose the predicted label for only one, one, and none of the 12 faces. That is, a majority of respondents failed to choose the predicted label for 11 of the 12 faces in the English-speaking (proportion of respondents range for the 11: .04 to .45) and Mandarin-speaking (proportion of respondents range for the 11: .00 to .44) samples; a majority of respondents failed to choose the predicted label for any of the 12 faces in the Malayalam-speaking sample (proportion of respondents range: .00 to .42). The modal choice in the three samples was the predicted label for five, six, and one, respectively, of the 12 faces. “Recognition” of the predicted emotion was negligible (< 15% of respondents) for five, eight (two of which were modal), and 10, respectively, of the 12 faces.¿Cuáles emociones, si las hay, tienen una señal facial? Los estudios desde la IA hasta la zoología a veces presuponen una respuesta a esta pregunta. Según un importante e influyente programa de investigación, las emociones básicas (fundamentales y discretas) pueden identificarse por la posesión de una señal facial única y universalmente reconocida con base biológica. Al conjunto clásico de seis de estas emociones, los investigadores presentaron recientemente 12 nuevos candidatos, que fueron examinados en el presente estudio con un procedimiento estándar de etiquetado libre en tres muestras: estadounidenses de habla inglesa (n = 200), chinos de habla mandarín (n = 101), e indios de habla malayalam (n = 200). En las tres muestras, respectivamente, la mayoría de los encuestados eligió la etiqueta prevista sólo para una, una y ninguna de las 12 caras. Es decir, la mayoría de los encuestados no eligieron la etiqueta prevista para 11 de las 12 caras de habla inglesa (la proporción de encuestados oscila entre 0,04 y 0,45) y mandarín (la proporción de encuestados oscila entre 0,04 y 0,45). 11: .00 a .44) muestras; la mayoría de los encuestados no eligieron la etiqueta prevista para ninguna de las 12 caras en la muestra de habla malayalam (la proporción de encuestados varía: 0,00 a 0,42). La elección modal en las tres muestras fue la etiqueta prevista para cinco, seis y una, respectivamente, de las 12 caras. El "reconocimiento" de la emoción predicha fue insignificante (<15% de los encuestados) para cinco, ocho (dos de los cuales eran modales) y 10, respectivamente, de las 12 caras.2022-2