How Imagination and Memory Shape the Moral Mind

• Published in: Personality and social psychology review Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 226 - 249
• Main Authors: O’Connor, Brendan Bo, Fowler, Zoë
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.05.2023; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Cognition; Decision making; Humans; Imagination; Interdisciplinary aspects; Memory, Episodic; Mental Recall; Morality; Morals; Representation; moral cognition; memory; imagination; episodic simulation
• ISSN: 1088-8683; 1532-7957; 1532-7957
• DOI: 10.1177/10888683221114215

Interdisciplinary research has proposed a multifaceted view of human cognition and morality, establishing that inputs from multiple cognitive and affective processes guide moral decisions. However, extant work on moral cognition has largely overlooked the contributions of episodic representation. The ability to remember or imagine a specific moment in time plays a broadly influential role in cognition and behavior. Yet, existing research has only begun exploring the influence of episodic representation on moral cognition. Here, we evaluate the theoretical connections between episodic representation and moral cognition, review emerging empirical work revealing how episodic representation affects moral decision-making, and conclude by highlighting gaps in the literature and open questions. We argue that a comprehensive model of moral cognition will require including the episodic memory system, further delineating its direct influence on moral thought, and better understanding its interactions with other mental processes to fundamentally shape our sense of right and wrong.