Dissociating moral identity from neural markers of the late positive potential in emotional attention to smoking and non-smoking stimuli

Muhammad Danial Che Ramli; Nasir Yusoff; Muhammad Danial Che Ramli; Nasir Yusoff

doi:10.3934/Neuroscience.2026006

AIMS Neuroscience

2026, Volume 13, Issue 1: 137-152. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2026006

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Research article

Dissociating moral identity from neural markers of the late positive potential in emotional attention to smoking and non-smoking stimuli

Muhammad Danial Che Ramli ¹,
Nasir Yusoff ^{2,3
,
,}

1.
Department of Diagnostic and Allied Health Science, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Management and Science University, Shah Alam 40100, Selangor, Malaysia
2.
Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia
3.
Brain & Behaviour Cluster, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia

Received: 09 September 2025 Revised: 02 December 2025 Accepted: 20 January 2026 Published: 04 March 2026

Background
The influence of moral identity on smoking behaviors remains an open question, particularly among youth prone to risk-taking and moral challenges. This study examined whether moral identity modulates late positive potential (LPP) responses during emotional–cognitive processing of smoking-related and non-smoking stimuli, while hypothesizing that attentional bias operates independently of individual moral identity differences.
Methods
Seventy-eight participants (M = 22 years, SD = 2.1) completed an event-related potential (ERP) session in which the LPP activity was recorded while they viewed target stimuli (1 = smoking and 2 = non-smoking) and non-target stimuli (neutral images). Prior to the ERP task, the participants completed the Moral Identity Scale (validated Malay language version) and provided sociodemographic information. The LPP components were extracted and subsequently analyzed using a mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) with stimulus type (target 1 and 2, non-target) as a within-subject factor and moral identity (internalization, symbolization) as a between-subject factor.
Results
Strong main effects of visual stimuli on both the LPP amplitude and latency were revealed, thus indicating robust attentional engagement with emotionally and behaviorally relevant stimuli. No interaction effects with moral identity were observed, thus suggesting that attentional mechanisms function independently of moral self-construal. Post hoc comparisons showed a consistent attentional bias toward target versus neutral stimuli, with smoking versus non-smoking differences varying across cortical regions: amplitude effects in central and temporal areas, and latency effects in parietal and occipital areas.
Conclusion
Smoking-related stimuli automatically capture attention irrespective of moral identity, thus highlighting the dissociation between moral self-construal and neural markers of emotional attention.
- event-related potential,
- late positive potentials,
- attentional bias,
- smoking behaviour,
- moral identity
Citation: Muhammad Danial Che Ramli, Nasir Yusoff. Dissociating moral identity from neural markers of the late positive potential in emotional attention to smoking and non-smoking stimuli[J]. AIMS Neuroscience, 2026, 13(1): 137-152. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2026006

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Abstract

Background

The influence of moral identity on smoking behaviors remains an open question, particularly among youth prone to risk-taking and moral challenges. This study examined whether moral identity modulates late positive potential (LPP) responses during emotional–cognitive processing of smoking-related and non-smoking stimuli, while hypothesizing that attentional bias operates independently of individual moral identity differences.

Methods

Seventy-eight participants (M = 22 years, SD = 2.1) completed an event-related potential (ERP) session in which the LPP activity was recorded while they viewed target stimuli (1 = smoking and 2 = non-smoking) and non-target stimuli (neutral images). Prior to the ERP task, the participants completed the Moral Identity Scale (validated Malay language version) and provided sociodemographic information. The LPP components were extracted and subsequently analyzed using a mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) with stimulus type (target 1 and 2, non-target) as a within-subject factor and moral identity (internalization, symbolization) as a between-subject factor.

Results

Strong main effects of visual stimuli on both the LPP amplitude and latency were revealed, thus indicating robust attentional engagement with emotionally and behaviorally relevant stimuli. No interaction effects with moral identity were observed, thus suggesting that attentional mechanisms function independently of moral self-construal. Post hoc comparisons showed a consistent attentional bias toward target versus neutral stimuli, with smoking versus non-smoking differences varying across cortical regions: amplitude effects in central and temporal areas, and latency effects in parietal and occipital areas.

Conclusion

Smoking-related stimuli automatically capture attention irrespective of moral identity, thus highlighting the dissociation between moral self-construal and neural markers of emotional attention.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Authors' contributions

All authors made direct and significant contributions to the manuscript. Both authors involved with conceptualized the study design, managed the project, analyzing, wrote the original draft, reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the final version for publication.

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