A Multinomial Process Model of Moral Judgment

NCT02799277 | Completed Phase 4 Results FDA Drug

• 1 other identifier: 2014-12-0010
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 206
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The main goal of this project to investigate the psychological processes underlying moral judgments in social dilemmas. We will examine neuroendocrine determinants of moral judgment by investigating the effects of exogenous testosterone

Conditions

Testosterone; Placebos

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Probability of Making a Moral Judgment That Aligns With Moral Norms

  Participants were asked to read and respond to a validated set of 24 moral dilemmas. The dilemma set included 4 parallel versions of 6 basic scenarios that varied in terms of whether (a) the dilemma involved a proscriptive norm that prohibits action or a prescriptive norm that prescribes action and (b) the benefits of the described action for overall well-being are either greater or smaller than its costs for overall well-being. Participants were asked to indicate for each dilemma whether or not they would perform the described action, using forced-choice options labeled yes and no.

  90 minutes

• Probability of Making a Moral Judgment That Maximizes Welfare

  Participants were asked to read and respond to a validated set of 24 moral dilemmas. The dilemma set included 4 parallel versions of 6 basic scenarios that varied in terms of whether (a) the dilemma involved a proscriptive norm that prohibits action or a prescriptive norm that prescribes action and (b) the benefits of the described action for overall well-being are either greater or smaller than its costs for overall well-being. Participants were asked to indicate for each dilemma whether or not they would perform the described action, using forced-choice options labeled yes and no.

  90 minutes

• Probability of Making a Moral Judgment That Involves Inaction Versus Action

  Participants were asked to read and respond to a validated set of 24 moral dilemmas. The dilemma set included 4 parallel versions of 6 basic scenarios that varied in terms of whether (a) the dilemma involved a proscriptive norm that prohibits action or a prescriptive norm that prescribes action and (b) the benefits of the described action for overall well-being are either greater or smaller than its costs for overall well-being. Participants were asked to indicate for each dilemma whether or not they would perform the described action, using forced-choice options labeled yes and no.

  90 minutes

Study Arms (2)

Testosterone

EXPERIMENTAL

14mg testosterone will be administered intranasally in a 1milliliter aqueous solution

Drug: Testosterone

Placebo

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

1ml blank (containing no drug) aqueous solution will be administered intranasally

Drug: Placebo

Interventions

Testosterone DRUG

Effect of testosterone on moral decision making

Testosterone

Placebo DRUG

Effect of testosterone on moral decision making

Placebo

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• must be currently enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin

You may not qualify if:

• not comfortable with the self-administration of testosterone for the purpose of our study less than 18 years old BMI less than 18 or above 27 suffer from any of the physical health conditions listed on the pre-screen questionnaire (I will not ask about mental health because our study is not about mental health) take any of the medications listed on the pre-screen questionnaire currently pregnant (females) irregular cycle in the past 6 months (females) smoke more than 5 cigarettes/day use cocaine more than once/month (\*\*or should I exclude all those who use any drugs recreationally more than once/month?\*\*) drink more than 10 alcoholic beverages/week

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Robert Josephs: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Texas at Austin Department of Psychology

Austin, Texas, 78712, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Testosterone

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Androstenols; Androstenes; Androstanes; Steroids; Fused-Ring Compounds; Polycyclic Compounds; Testosterone Congeners; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Gonadal Hormones; Hormones; Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists

Limitations and Caveats

The study was conducted with a highly homogeneous sample of university undergraduates, which may limit the generalizability of the obtained results to other populations.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Robert Josephs
• Organization: University of Texas at Austin

bob.josephs@utexas.edu

5122840298

Study Officials

• Robert A Josephs, PhD

  Professor

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 4
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 9, 2016
• First Posted: June 14, 2016
• Study Start: August 30, 2017
• Primary Completion: May 5, 2018
• Study Completion: June 1, 2018
• Last Updated: September 28, 2026
• Results First Posted: September 28, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)