<p>This study explores the effects of laboratory-induced anxiety (via the Threat-of-shock, TOS paradigm) on moral perception through a Chinese lexical decision task combined with Electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 68 participants were assigned to either a TOS group, where anxiety was induced by the anticipation of electrical shocks, or a control group. The results indicated that control participants exhibited a pronounced moral pop-out effect, demonstrating higher accuracy for moral words compared to non-moral words. In contrast, the TOS group did not exhibit this processing advantage for moral stimuli, suggesting that anxiety disrupts moral perception. Electrophysiological data further corroborated these findings, revealing smaller N400 amplitudes for moral words in the control group, indicative of more efficient semantic integration. In contrast, the TOS group did not display this differential N400 response. And this difference did not carry over to the LPC component, which showed no significant between-group differences. These findings demonstrate that anxiety disrupts the early stages of moral perception, emphasizing the intricate relationship between emotional states and moral cognition. This research enhances our understanding of the mechanisms by which anxiety impairs moral judgment and decision-making, offering insights for psychological theory and mental health interventions.</p>