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Article

Permissibility, Moral Emotions, and Perceived Moral Agency in Autonomous Driving Dilemmas: An Investigation of Pedestrian-Sacrifice and Driver-Sacrifice Scenarios in the Third-Person Perspective

by
Chaowu Dong
,
Xuqun You
and
Ying Li
*
School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(8), 1038; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081038 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 26 June 2025 / Revised: 26 July 2025 / Accepted: 29 July 2025 / Published: 30 July 2025

Abstract

Automated vehicles controlled by artificial intelligence are becoming capable of making moral decisions independently. This study investigates the differences in participants’ perceptions of the moral decision-maker’s permissibility when viewing scenarios (pre-test) and after witnessing the outcomes of moral decisions (post-test). It also investigates how permissibility, ten typical moral emotions, and perceived moral agency fluctuate when AI and the human driver make deontological or utilitarian decisions in a pedestrian-sacrificing dilemma (Experiment 1, N = 254) and a driver-sacrificing dilemma (Experiment 2, N = 269) from a third-person perspective. Moreover, by conducting binary logistic regression, this study examined whether these factors could predict the non-decrease in permissibility ratings. In both experiments, participants preferred to delegate decisions to human drivers rather than to AI, and they generally preferred utilitarianism over deontology. The results of perceived moral emotions and moral agency provide evidence. Moreover, Experiment 2 elicited greater variations in permissibility, moral emotions, and perceived moral agency compared to Experiment 1. Moreover, deontology and gratitude could positively predict the non-decrease in permissibility ratings in Experiment 1, while contempt had a negative influence. In Experiment 2, the human driver and disgust were significant negative predictor factors, while perceived moral agency had a positive influence. These findings deepen the comprehension of the dynamic processes of autonomous driving’s moral decision-making and facilitate understanding of people’s attitudes toward moral machines and their underlying reasons, providing a reference for developing more sophisticated moral machines.
Keywords: automated vehicles; moral dilemma; moral decision-making; moral emotion; perceived moral agency automated vehicles; moral dilemma; moral decision-making; moral emotion; perceived moral agency

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Dong, C.; You, X.; Li, Y. Permissibility, Moral Emotions, and Perceived Moral Agency in Autonomous Driving Dilemmas: An Investigation of Pedestrian-Sacrifice and Driver-Sacrifice Scenarios in the Third-Person Perspective. Behav. Sci. 2025, 15, 1038. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081038

AMA Style

Dong C, You X, Li Y. Permissibility, Moral Emotions, and Perceived Moral Agency in Autonomous Driving Dilemmas: An Investigation of Pedestrian-Sacrifice and Driver-Sacrifice Scenarios in the Third-Person Perspective. Behavioral Sciences. 2025; 15(8):1038. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081038

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dong, Chaowu, Xuqun You, and Ying Li. 2025. "Permissibility, Moral Emotions, and Perceived Moral Agency in Autonomous Driving Dilemmas: An Investigation of Pedestrian-Sacrifice and Driver-Sacrifice Scenarios in the Third-Person Perspective" Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 8: 1038. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081038

APA Style

Dong, C., You, X., & Li, Y. (2025). Permissibility, Moral Emotions, and Perceived Moral Agency in Autonomous Driving Dilemmas: An Investigation of Pedestrian-Sacrifice and Driver-Sacrifice Scenarios in the Third-Person Perspective. Behavioral Sciences, 15(8), 1038. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081038

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