Skip to main content
PMC home page
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences logoLink to Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
. 2004 Nov 29;359(1451):1709–1726. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1552

A neuroscientific approach to normative judgment in law and justice.

Oliver R Goodenough 1, Kristin Prehn 1
PMCID: PMC1693459  PMID: 15590612

Abstract

Developments in cognitive neuroscience are providing new insights into the nature of normative judgment. Traditional views in such disciplines as philosophy, religion, law, psychology and economics have differed over the role and usefulness of intuition and emotion in judging blameworthiness. Cognitive psychology and neurobiology provide new tools and methods for studying questions of normative judgment. Recently, a consensus view has emerged, which recognizes important roles for emotion and intuition and which suggests that normative judgment is a distributed process in the brain. Testing this approach through lesion and scanning studies has linked a set of brain regions to such judgment, including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and posterior superior temporal sulcus. Better models of emotion and intuition will help provide further clarification of the processes involved. The study of law and justice is less well developed. We advance a model of law in the brain which suggests that law can recruit a wider variety of sources of information and paths of processing than do the intuitive moral responses that have been studied so far. We propose specific hypotheses and lines of further research that could help test this approach.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (264.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson A. K., Phelps E. A. Lesions of the human amygdala impair enhanced perception of emotionally salient events. Nature. 2001 May 17;411(6835):305–309. doi: 10.1038/35077083. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson Adam K., Phelps Elizabeth A. Is the human amygdala critical for the subjective experience of emotion? Evidence of intact dispositional affect in patients with amygdala lesions. J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 Jul 1;14(5):709–720. doi: 10.1162/08989290260138618. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson S. W., Bechara A., Damasio H., Tranel D., Damasio A. R. Impairment of social and moral behavior related to early damage in human prefrontal cortex. Nat Neurosci. 1999 Nov;2(11):1032–1037. doi: 10.1038/14833. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Angrilli A., Palomba D., Cantagallo A., Maietti A., Stegagno L. Emotional impairment after right orbitofrontal lesion in a patient without cognitive deficits. Neuroreport. 1999 Jun 3;10(8):1741–1746. doi: 10.1097/00001756-199906030-00021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Aron Adam R., Robbins Trevor W., Poldrack Russell A. Inhibition and the right inferior frontal cortex. Trends Cogn Sci. 2004 Apr;8(4):170–177. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2004.02.010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Blakemore Sarah-Jayne, Winston Joel, Frith Uta. Social cognitive neuroscience: where are we heading? Trends Cogn Sci. 2004 May;8(5):216–222. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2004.03.012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Boyer Pascal. Religious thought and behaviour as by-products of brain function. Trends Cogn Sci. 2003 Mar;7(3):119–124. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(03)00031-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Camerer Colin F. Behavioural studies of strategic thinking in games. Trends Cogn Sci. 2003 May;7(5):225–231. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(03)00094-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Camerer Colin F. Psychology and economics. Strategizing in the brain. Science. 2003 Jun 13;300(5626):1673–1675. doi: 10.1126/science.1086215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Camille Nathalie, Coricelli Giorgio, Sallet Jerome, Pradat-Diehl Pascale, Duhamel Jean-René, Sirigu Angela. The involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex in the experience of regret. Science. 2004 May 21;304(5674):1167–1170. doi: 10.1126/science.1094550. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Casebeer William D. Moral cognition and its neural constituents. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2003 Oct;4(10):840–846. doi: 10.1038/nrn1223. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Cosmides L. The logic of social exchange: has natural selection shaped how humans reason? Studies with the Wason selection task. Cognition. 1989 Apr;31(3):187–276. doi: 10.1016/0010-0277(89)90023-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dale A. M., Halgren E. Spatiotemporal mapping of brain activity by integration of multiple imaging modalities. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2001 Apr;11(2):202–208. doi: 10.1016/s0959-4388(00)00197-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Damasio A. R. Neuropsychology. Towards a neuropathology of emotion and mood. Nature. 1997 Apr 24;386(6627):769–770. doi: 10.1038/386769a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Damasio A. R. The somatic marker hypothesis and the possible functions of the prefrontal cortex. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1996 Oct 29;351(1346):1413–1420. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1996.0125. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Damasio H., Grabowski T., Frank R., Galaburda A. M., Damasio A. R. The return of Phineas Gage: clues about the brain from the skull of a famous patient. Science. 1994 May 20;264(5162):1102–1105. doi: 10.1126/science.8178168. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Dehaene S., Naccache L. Towards a cognitive neuroscience of consciousness: basic evidence and a workspace framework. Cognition. 2001 Apr;79(1-2):1–37. doi: 10.1016/s0010-0277(00)00123-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Dolan R. J. Emotion, cognition, and behavior. Science. 2002 Nov 8;298(5596):1191–1194. doi: 10.1126/science.1076358. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Evans Jonathan St B. T. In two minds: dual-process accounts of reasoning. Trends Cogn Sci. 2003 Oct;7(10):454–459. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2003.08.012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Fehr Ernst, Fischbacher Urs. Social norms and human cooperation. Trends Cogn Sci. 2004 Apr;8(4):185–190. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2004.02.007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Fehr Ernst, Gächter Simon. Altruistic punishment in humans. Nature. 2002 Jan 10;415(6868):137–140. doi: 10.1038/415137a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Fox K., Henley J., Isaac J. Experience-dependent development of NMDA receptor transmission. Nat Neurosci. 1999 Apr;2(4):297–299. doi: 10.1038/7203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Goel V., Buchel C., Frith C., Dolan R. J. Dissociation of mechanisms underlying syllogistic reasoning. Neuroimage. 2000 Nov;12(5):504–514. doi: 10.1006/nimg.2000.0636. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Goel V., Dolan R. J. Functional neuroanatomy of three-term relational reasoning. Neuropsychologia. 2001;39(9):901–909. doi: 10.1016/s0028-3932(01)00024-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Goel Vinod, Dolan Raymond J. Explaining modulation of reasoning by belief. Cognition. 2003 Feb;87(1):B11–B22. doi: 10.1016/s0010-0277(02)00185-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Goodenough Oliver R. Responsibility and punishment: whose mind? A response. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Nov 29;359(1451):1805–1809. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1548. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Greene J. D., Sommerville R. B., Nystrom L. E., Darley J. M., Cohen J. D. An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgment. Science. 2001 Sep 14;293(5537):2105–2108. doi: 10.1126/science.1062872. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Greene Joshua. From neural 'is' to moral 'ought': what are the moral implications of neuroscientific moral psychology? Nat Rev Neurosci. 2003 Oct;4(10):846–849. doi: 10.1038/nrn1224. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Greene Joshua, Haidt Jonathan. How (and where) does moral judgment work? Trends Cogn Sci. 2002 Dec 1;6(12):517–523. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(02)02011-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Haidt J. The emotional dog and its rational tail: a social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychol Rev. 2001 Oct;108(4):814–834. doi: 10.1037/0033-295x.108.4.814. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Heekeren Hauke R., Wartenburger Isabell, Schmidt Helge, Schwintowski Hans-Peter, Villringer Arno. An fMRI study of simple ethical decision-making. Neuroreport. 2003 Jul 1;14(9):1215–1219. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200307010-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Hinde Robert A. Law and the sources of morality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Nov 29;359(1451):1685–1695. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1542. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Hoffman Morris B. The neuroeconomic path of the law. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Nov 29;359(1451):1667–1676. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1540. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Humphreys G. W., Price C. J. Cognitive neuropsychology and functional brain imaging: implications for functional and anatomical models of cognition. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2001 Apr;107(1-3):119–153. doi: 10.1016/s0001-6918(01)00036-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Keil Frank C. Folkscience: coarse interpretations of a complex reality. Trends Cogn Sci. 2003 Aug;7(8):368–373. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(03)00158-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. McCabe K. A., Rassenti S. J., Smith V. L. Game theory and reciprocity in some extensive form experimental games. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Nov 12;93(23):13421–13428. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.23.13421. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. McCabe K. A., Smith V. L. A comparison of naïve and sophisticated subject behavior with game theoretic predictions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Mar 28;97(7):3777–3781. doi: 10.1073/pnas.040577397. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. McCabe K., Houser D., Ryan L., Smith V., Trouard T. A functional imaging study of cooperation in two-person reciprocal exchange. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Sep 18;98(20):11832–11835. doi: 10.1073/pnas.211415698. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. McKenzie Craig R.M. Rational models as theories - not standards - of behavior. Trends Cogn Sci. 2003 Sep;7(9):403–406. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(03)00196-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Mellers B. A., Schwartz A., Cooke A. D. Judgment and decision making. Annu Rev Psychol. 1998;49:447–477. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.49.1.447. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Miller George A. The cognitive revolution: a historical perspective. Trends Cogn Sci. 2003 Mar;7(3):141–144. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(03)00029-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Moll J., Eslinger P. J., Oliveira-Souza R. Frontopolar and anterior temporal cortex activation in a moral judgment task: preliminary functional MRI results in normal subjects. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2001 Sep;59(3-B):657–664. doi: 10.1590/s0004-282x2001000500001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Moll Jorge, de Oliveira-Souza Ricardo, Bramati Ivanei E., Grafman Jordan. Functional networks in emotional moral and nonmoral social judgments. Neuroimage. 2002 Jul;16(3 Pt 1):696–703. doi: 10.1006/nimg.2002.1118. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Moll Jorge, de Oliveira-Souza Ricardo, Eslinger Paul J., Bramati Ivanei E., Mourão-Miranda Janaína, Andreiuolo Pedro Angelo, Pessoa Luiz. The neural correlates of moral sensitivity: a functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of basic and moral emotions. J Neurosci. 2002 Apr 1;22(7):2730–2736. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-07-02730.2002. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Moll Jorge, de Oliveira-Souza Ricardo, Eslinger Paul J. Morals and the human brain: a working model. Neuroreport. 2003 Mar 3;14(3):299–305. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200303030-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Moore C. J., Price C. J. A functional neuroimaging study of the variables that generate category-specific object processing differences. Brain. 1999 May;122(Pt 5):943–962. doi: 10.1093/brain/122.5.943. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Nichols Shaun. Norms with feeling: towards a psychological account of moral judgment. Cognition. 2002 Jun;84(2):221–236. doi: 10.1016/s0010-0277(02)00048-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Parsons L. M. Exploring the functional neuroanatomy of music performance, perception, and comprehension. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2001 Jun;930:211–231. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb05735.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Parsons L. M., Osherson D. New Evidence for Distinct Right and Left Brain Systems for Deductive versus Probabilistic Reasoning. Cereb Cortex. 2001 Oct;11(10):954–965. doi: 10.1093/cercor/11.10.954. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Pizarro David, Uhlmann Eric, Salovey Peter. Asymmetry in judgments of moral blame and praise: the role of perceived metadesires. Psychol Sci. 2003 May;14(3):267–272. doi: 10.1111/1467-9280.03433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Posner Michael I. Imaging a science of mind. Trends Cogn Sci. 2003 Oct;7(10):450–453. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2003.08.013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Posse S, Müller-Gärtner HW, Dager SR. Functional Magnetic Resonance Studies of Brain Activation. Semin Clin Neuropsychiatry. 1996 Jan;1(1):76–88. doi: 10.1053/SCNP00100076. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Savoy R. L. History and future directions of human brain mapping and functional neuroimaging. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2001 Apr;107(1-3):9–42. doi: 10.1016/s0001-6918(01)00018-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Shams Ladan, von der Malsburg Christoph. Acquisition of visual shape primitives. Vision Res. 2002 Aug;42(17):2105–2122. doi: 10.1016/s0042-6989(02)00130-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Smith Philip L., Ratcliff Roger. Psychology and neurobiology of simple decisions. Trends Neurosci. 2004 Mar;27(3):161–168. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2004.01.006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Stake Jeffrey Evans. The property 'instinct'. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Nov 29;359(1451):1763–1774. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1551. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Thoroughman K. A., Shadmehr R. Learning of action through adaptive combination of motor primitives. Nature. 2000 Oct 12;407(6805):742–747. doi: 10.1038/35037588. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  58. Tversky A., Kahneman D. Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science. 1974 Sep 27;185(4157):1124–1131. doi: 10.1126/science.185.4157.1124. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Tversky A., Kahneman D. The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science. 1981 Jan 30;211(4481):453–458. doi: 10.1126/science.7455683. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  60. Wartenburger Isabell, Heekeren Hauke R., Abutalebi Jubin, Cappa Stefano F., Villringer Arno, Perani Daniela. Early setting of grammatical processing in the bilingual brain. Neuron. 2003 Jan 9;37(1):159–170. doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(02)01150-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  61. Wilkinson David, Halligan Peter. The relevance of behavioural measures for functional-imaging studies of cognition. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2004 Jan;5(1):67–73. doi: 10.1038/nrn1302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  62. Zak Paul J. Neuroeconomics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Nov 29;359(1451):1737–1748. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1544. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  63. Zysset Stefan, Huber Oswald, Ferstl Evelyn, von Cramon D. Yves. The anterior frontomedian cortex and evaluative judgment: an fMRI study. Neuroimage. 2002 Apr;15(4):983–991. doi: 10.1006/nimg.2001.1008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences are provided here courtesy of The Royal Society

RESOURCES