The Disobedient Brain: The social neuroscience of non-compliance to immoral orders

Introduction

The core goal of this project is to unravel the mechanisms of disobedience. To understand the factors that prevent an individual from complying with immoral orders, research should focus on two critical axes:

1. Which social and situational factors support disobedience
2. Which individual traits and neuro-cognitive processes support disobedience

While the first axis has been extensively addressed in past literature, the second axis has scarcely been approached.

Research Focus

DISOBEY is uniquely focused on developing a social neuroscience approach to understanding the mechanisms through which resistance to immoral orders may develop in a given situation.

Neuro-Cognitive Processes

Two main neuro-cognitive processes will be considered:

• The sense of agency that one experiences when performing a voluntary action
• The empathic response towards others’ pain

The main hypothesis is that individuals who retain a high sense of agency and empathy for pain under coercion are more likely to resist immoral orders despite potential social costs.

Methodology

To validate this hypothesis, MRI and neuromodulation techniques will be used. The project will include WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich & Democratic) adults, as well as very unique and rare non-WEIRD populations, such as:

• Military personnel
• Genocide perpetrators
• Survivors and their offspring in Rwanda
• ‘Righteous’ individuals who rescued lives from extermination during genocides

Including these populations will also allow for the validation of the hypothesis beyond WEIRD societies, with individuals who actually experienced the disastrous consequences of obedience during real-life events.

Societal Implications

With this project, I aim to pioneer a new area of research that will have deep societal implications. In the future, I intend to develop specific education programs, in collaboration with the NGOs I am currently working with, for both military members and civilians in vulnerable societies that seek to prevent illegitimate violence on the grounds of compliance to authority.