Explore the vast range of titles available.

The effects of moral protective factors (e.g., moral cost) on aggression and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To address this issue, this study developed the Moral Cost of Aggression Questionnaire (MCAQ) and validated its psychometric properties in 516 college students (287 female; Mage = 19.77 years, SD = 1.61). Subsequently, the relationships among moral cost, positive outcome expectancies for aggression (POEA), and aggression were examined in 749 college students (330 females; Mage = 18.96 years, SD = 0.74). Mediation analysis indicated that POEA mediated the relationship between moral cost and aggression. This pattern of associations is consistent with the hypothesis that moral cost is negatively associated with aggression, in part through its link to lower subjective value of aggressive outcomes (i.e., lower POEA). This study provides a reliable and valid measure of the trait moral cost (MCAQ) and offers preliminary empirical support for a discounting mechanism in which moral cost is associated with reduced aggression via decreased POEA. These findings suggest that interventions targeting both moral cost and outcome valuation may be a useful direction for future research.

Positive outcome expectancy is a crucial cognitive factor influencing aggression, yet its neural basis remains unclear. Therefore, the present study combined voxel-based morphometry (VBM) with a resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analysis to investigate the brain correlates of positive outcome expectancy in aggression in young people. In the VBM analysis, multiple linear regression was conducted to explore the relationship between individual differences in aggressive positive outcome expectancy and regional gray matter volume (GMV) among 325 undergraduate students. For the RSFC analysis, seed regions were selected based on the results of the VBM analysis. Subsequently, multiple linear regression was employed to examine whether a significant correlation existed between individual differences in aggressive positive outcome expectancy and the RSFC of seed regions with other brain regions in 304 undergraduate students. The findings indicated that aggressive positive outcome expectancy was positively correlated with GMV in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), right temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Moreover, it was also positively associated with RSFC between the PCC and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The prediction analysis indicated robust relationships between aggressive positive outcome expectancy and the GMV in the PCC, right TPJ, as well as the RSFC between the PCC and the left DLPFC. Our research provides the initial evidence for the neural basis of positive outcome expectancy in aggression, suggesting the potential role of the PCC as a hub in its neural network.