The brain can reverse our morals

A new study developed by scientists who are part of the Neuroscience Society of the United States concludes that cognitive control impacts our moral decisions, so it would have the ability to "reverse" our habitual behaviors: if we are honest we could orient ourselves towards deception , while if we are characterized by cheating and lying we would tend to change towards honesty.

Now, new research recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience has proven that when the activity of the Theta brain waves becomes stronger, a pattern of activity representative of cognitive control, people tend to "reverse" their moral behavior: cheaters show a particular tendency to be honest and honest people seem more determined to deceive.

Theta waves and cognitive control

Theta waves are electromagnetic oscillations which become evident at frequencies ranging between 3.5 and 7.5 Hz: they are easily detected in the human brain using an electroencephalogram, a study that measures the electrical activity of our brain.

Generally speaking, Theta waves are directly related to the initial stages of sleep. Neuroscientists have determined that they are generated after interaction between the temporal and frontal lobes, two very important structures of the cerebral cortex that are involved in different cognitive functions and the Central Nervous System.

At the same time, the Theta waves are key in the cognitive control processes, which can basically be defined as the ability to inhibit certain preponderant and somewhat automatic responses, in favor of other responses that require the implementation of more elaborate attention processes.

Cognitive control and moral decisions

Faced with a specific possibility of taking something that is not ours, for example, cognitive control stops the impulse to steal and "reminds" us that we are honest people or that within our scale of values ​​it is not positive to take something that belongs to someone else. However, the new study proves that reactions are not always so logical or predictable.

Moral "investment"

During the research, scientists measured the brain activity of a group of participants with electroencephalography. The purpose was to determine the cognitive control activity pattern and compare it with the brain dynamics of the volunteers, within the framework of a "game" that tested their moral behaviors.

This is how they verified that the increase in Theta waves It not only evidenced the function of cognitive control, but also on many occasions promoted the reversal of the habitual moral behavior of each participant. The data showed that honest people lost their moral "boundaries" and could increase their willingness to lie, while habitual "cheaters" were inclined to be more honest.

It is worth noting, however, that scientists maintain that cognitive control does not promote "dishonesty» instantly: it all depends on the moral failure that is at stake in every situation. In this way, moral behavior defined as "honest" would not be intuitive: in a certain way, it would depend on the willpower of each person and an individual choice.