Mahdiyar Mokhlespour Esfahani, Alireza Moradi, Mehrdad Dadgostar, Nooshin Pourbaghi, Mostafa Khanzadi,
Volume 13, Issue 1 (6-2025)
Abstract
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.
