Modeling Rational Decision Making Based on Executive Functions with the Mediating Role of Moral Judgment in Adolescents

Sheyvandi Cholicheh, Kamran

doi:10.22034/iepa.2026.560200.1556

Modeling Rational Decision Making Based on Executive Functions with the Mediating Role of Moral Judgment in Adolescents

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Kamran Sheyvandi Cholicheh

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Allameh Tabatabae'i University, Tehran, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22034/iepa.2026.560200.1556

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of executive functions in predicting rational decision making in adolescents with the mediating role of moral judgment. Rational decision making, as one of the key functions of cognitive development in adolescence, plays a crucial role in individual, social, and academic adaptation. Since adolescence is accompanied by extensive biological, cognitive, and emotional changes, identifying the underlying factors affecting rational decision making is of particular importance.
Method: The present research was quantitative and correlational using structural equation modeling. The statistical population of the study included junior high school adolescents in Yazd in the academic year 2024-2025, from which a cluster random sample was selected. The research instruments included Scott and Bruce's General Decision Making Styles Questionnaire (1995), Nejati's Cognitive Functions Questionnaire (2013), and Rust's Moral Judgment Questionnaire (1973). Data were analyzed using AMOS-24 software.
Results: The findings showed that executive functions directly predicted rational decision-making (P<.05, β=.17). Moral judgment also played a mediating role in this relationship (P<.002, β=.308). In other words, adolescents who had higher executive function abilities also had better moral judgment, and these factors led to improved quality of their rational decision-making.
Conclusions: The results of this study highlight the importance of considering cognitive and moral processes in an integrated manner and can be a basis for designing educational and counseling interventions aimed at improving adolescents' decision-making skills.

The present study employed a quantitative, correlational research design using structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of first-grade secondary school students in Yazd during the 2024–2025 academic year, from whom a cluster-random sample was selected. Research instruments included the General Decision-Making Styles Questionnaire (GDMS), the Cognitive Functions Questionnaire (Nejati), and Rest’s Moral Judgment Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using AMOS-24 software.

The findings indicated that executive functions directly predicted rational decision-making (β = 0.17, p < 0.05). Moreover, moral judgment played a mediating role in this relationship (β = 0.308, p < 0.002). In other words, adolescents with higher executive functioning also demonstrated better moral judgment, which in turn enhanced the quality of their rational decision-making. The results highlight the importance of integrating cognitive and moral processes and can provide a foundation for designing educational and counseling interventions aimed at improving adolescents’ decision-making skills.

Keywords

Rational Decision-Making

Executive Functions

Moral Judgment

Adolescence

Subjects

School Psychology

Aizpitarte, A., Atherton, O.E., Zheng, L.R., Alonso ‐Arbiol, I., & Robins, R.W. (2019). Developmental precursors of relational aggression from late childhood through adolescence. Child Development. 90(1),117-126. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13166

Blakemore, S. J. (2018). Inventing ourselves: The secret life of the teenage brain. Hachette UK.‏

Crone, E. A., & Dahl, R. E. (2012). Understanding adolescence as a period of social–affective engagement and goal flexibility. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(9), 636–650. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3313

Demehri, F., & Takhtkeshiyan, H. (2024). The effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation using the I-Math educational program on executive functions and math performance of first-grade children with math anxiety. Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory, 7(26), 5-17.‏

Diamond, A. (2016). Why improving and assessing executive functions early in life is critical.‏

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64(1), 135-168.

Fallon, C. K., Matthews, G., Panganiban, A. R., Wohleber, R., & Roberts, R. D. (2013). Emotional intelligence and decision making under stress. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 57(1), 873-877. SAGE Publications.‏

Gibbs, J. C. (2019). Moral development and reality: Beyond the theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt. Oxford University Press.‏

Gutiérrez-Cobo, M. J., Cabello, R., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2016). The relationship between emotional intelligence and cool and hot cognitive processes: A systematic review. Frontiers in behavioral. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00101

Hosseini, M., & Hosseini, M. (2019). The role of executive functions and risk-taking in predicting students' decision-making style. Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry, Cognition 7(2), 104-115.

Icenogle, G., & Cauffman, E. (2021). Adolescent decision making: A decade in review. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(4), 1006-1022.‏ doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12608

Kohlberg, L. (1984). Essays on moral development: The psychology of moral development. Harper & Row.

Nejati, V. (2013). Cognitive Abilities Questionnaire: Design and evaluation of psychometric properties. Cognitive Science Updates, 15(2), 11-19.

Salehnejad Bahrestaghi, S., & Heidari Parchkouhi, S. (2022). The effect of virtual education on students' moral judgment during the coronavirus pandemic. Quarterly Journal of New Ideas in Psychology, 14(18), 1-15. https://jnip.ir/article-1-796-en.pdf

Shulman, E. P., Harden, K. P., Chein, J. M., & Steinberg, L. (2016). The development of impulse control and sensation‐seeking in adolescence: Independent or interdependent processes? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 26(1), 37-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12181

Steinberg, L. (2020). Adolescence (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Wang, Z., & Zhou, Y. (2023). Relationship between decision-making and executive function in conditions of age, risk, and decision-making styles. In The International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies (pp. 29-34).‏

Zelazo, P. D., & Carlson, S. M. (2020). The neurodevelopment of executive function skills: Implications for academic achievement gaps. Psychology & Neuroscience, 13 (3), 273–298.‏ https://doi.org/10.1037/pne0000208