Of the N = 157 participants who completed the dilemma set (cf. Conway & Gawronski, 2013), 155 were successfully genotyped for the CAG polymorphism in the androgen receptor gene. Short and long alleles were designated as in the study by Gong et al. (2017). Female SS homozygotes and male S allele carriers were contrasted with carriers of the CAG L allele.
There was no main effect of the CAG polymorphism on the traditional moral dilemma score, utilitarianism, or deontology. However, there was an interaction effect between endocrine status (men vs. free cycling women vs. COC users) and the CAG polymorphism on deontology.
A separate analysis in the female subsample confirmed the interaction effect on deontology and on the traditional score. Women using COC with the CAG SS genotype had higher traditional dilemma scores as well as substantially reduced deontology scores compared to L allele carriers. The effect indicates a reduced inclination for deontological rules and a enhanced tendency to choose harmful actions that serve the greater good. On a descriptive level, the opposite pattern emerged in free cycling women. Contrariwise, in the male subsample there was no effect of the CAG polymorphism on any of the moral judgment parameters.
Furthermore, CAG genotype and endocrine status affected difficulty ratings in incongruent dilemmas in women. While in free cycling women carriers of CAG L alleles reported less difficulty in making moral decisions compared to SS genotypes, the opposite tendency was found in COC users.