Speaker
Description
Embodied cognition theories suggest that even abstract processes such as, for example, language syntax can be influenced by the sensorimotor signals through which bodily self-consciousness -our sense of owning a body (ownership) and being the author of actions (agency)- is built and maintained. Using an embodied morality framework, I will report on recent research that explores how bodily signals affect moral decision-making with a specific focus on whether strengthening or weakening participants’ sense of ownership and agency over artificial agents influences dishonesty in real and virtual interactions. I will consider innovative technologies, such as ingestible devices that can transmit gut signals during cognitive and emotional tasks, alongside established experimental methods like physiological recordings of autonomic nervous activity. I will also discuss the impact of exteroceptive (e.g., the external features of a virtual body such as its physical appearance) and interoceptive cues (e.g., the internal bodily states shaped by cardiac, or thermal signals) on modulating bodily self-consciousness and its relationship with (dis)honest decisions. Additionally, I will examine the contribution of less explored, deep body signals, like respiratory and gastrointestinal, supposedly involved in regulating homeostasis and allostatic brain-body interactions. Delving into how corporeal cues modulate higher-order functions will offer novel insights into how comparatively low-level body-related variables influence moral decisions at behavioral, physiological, and neural levels.
