Neurophysiology of first- vs third-person moral decision-making

Despite extensive research on moral dilemmas, little is known about how perspective (first- vs. third-person) shapes neural dynamics during interpersonal communication. This study investigated the electrophysiological underpinnings of moral reasoning during an interaction by comparing discussions of third-person and first-person moral dilemmas. 28 participants discussed two moral dilemmas: one involving a fictional decision-maker (third-person perspective) and one requiring participants to take a personal stance (first-person perspective). Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was simultaneously recorded from each participant. Power spectral density analyses focused on delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands across frontal, temporo-central, and parieto-occipital regions. Results indicated that delta and theta oscillations were significantly higher in frontal and temporo-central regions compared to posterior sites, highlighting their role in emotional regulation, attentional allocation, and socio-cognitive integration during moral communication, regardless of the perspective. Also, gamma activity was enhanced in parietooccipital areas, reflecting attentional modulation to socially salient information. Crucially, beta power increased specifically during first- compared to third-person discussions, suggesting heightened self-referential processing and emotional engagement when participants directly evaluated their own moral choices. These findings reveal distinct EEG oscillatory dynamics underlying moral reasoning in social interaction, emphasizing perspective-specific beta activity linked to personal involvement, alongside perspective-invariant mechanisms of emotional and cognitive coordination. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how interpersonal communication shapes moral decision- making at the neural level.