Showing papers on "Social cognitive theory of morality published in 2000"

Creativity. Cognitive, personal, developmental, and social aspects

Abstract: Although many psychologists have expressed an interest in the phenomenon of creativity, psychological research on this topic did not rapidly expand until after J. P. Guilford claimed, in his 1950 APA presidential address, that this topic deserved far more attention than it was then receiving. This article reviews the progress psychologists have made in understanding creativity since Guilford's call to arms. Research progress has taken place on 4 fronts: the cognitive processes involved in the creative act, the distinctive characteristics of the creative person, the development and manifestation of creativity across the individual life span, and the social environments most strongly associated with creative activity. Although some important questions remain unanswered, psychologists now know more than ever before about how individuals achieve this special and significant form of optimal human functioning.

Moral Awareness in Business Organizations: Influences of Issue-Related and Social Context Factors

Abstract: Individuals' awarenessof moral issues is an important first step in the ethicaldecision-making process. Relying on research in social cognition andbusiness ethics, we hypothesized that moral awareness is influenced byissue-related factors (magnitude of consequences of the moral issueand issue framing in moral terms) and social contextrelated factors(competitive context and perceived social consensus that the issue isethically problematic). The hypotheses were tested in a fieldexperiment involving 291competitive intelligence practitioners.Results generally supported the hypotheses. Qualitative analysisyielded additional insights into the content of respondents' moralawareness.

A Neo-Kohlbergian Approach to Morality Research

Abstract: Kohlberg's work in moral judgement has been criticised by many philosophers and psychologists. Building on Kohlberg's core assumptions, we propose a model of moral judgement (hereafter the neo-Kohlbergian approach) that addresses these concerns. Using 25 years of data gathered with the Defining Issues Test (DIT), we present an overview of Minnesota's neo-Kohlbergian approach, using Kohlberg's basic starting points, ideas from Cognitive Science (especially schema theory), and developments in moral philosophy.

The social context of cognitive development

Abstract: The Social Foundations of Cognitive Development Introduction Processes of Change: The "How" of Cognitive Development The Sociocultural Context of Cognitive Development The Development of Specific Higher Mental Functions in Social Context Acquring Knowledge: Intersubjectivity, Joint Attention, and Social Referencing Remembering: The Social Construction of the Past Solving and Learning to Solve Problems in Social Context Constructing the Future: Planning in Social Context Conclusions and Future Directions

Moral Geographies: Ethics in a World of Difference

Abstract: This book explores the interface between geography, ethics and morality. It considers questions that have haunted the past, are subjects of controversy in the present, and which affect the future. Does distance diminish responsibility? Should we interfere with the lives of those we do not know? Is there a distinction between private and public space? Which values and morals, if any, are absolute, and which cultural, communal or personal? And are universal rights consistent with respect for difference? David Smith shows how these questions play themselves out in politics, planning, development, social and personal relations, the exploitation of resources, and competition for territory. After introducing the essential elements of moral philosophy from Plato to postmodernism, he examines the moral significance of concepts of landscape, location and place, proximity, distance and community, space and territory, justice, and nature. He is concerned above all with the morality people practice, to see how this varies according to geographical context, and to assess the inevitability of its outcomes. His argument is seamlessly interwoven with everyday observation and vividly described case studies: the latter include genocide and rescue during the Holocaust, the conflicts over space between Israeland Palestine and within Israel itself, and the social tensions and aspirations in post-apartheid South Africa. The meaning, possibility and limits of social justice lie at the heart of the book. That geographical context is vital to the understanding of moral practice and ethical theory is its central proposition. The book is clearly and engagingly written. The author has a student readership in mind, but his book will appeal widely to geographers and others involved in planning, development, politics, social theory, and the analysis of the contemporary world.

Nothing more than feelings? The role of emotions in moral judgment

Abstract: There is a powerful tradition that views emotions as harmful to the process of moral judgment and decision-making. Stemming from the writings of Kant and others, who viewed emotions as undependable forces that are largely outside of our control, this view has had a large influence on moral psychology. It is argued that this tradition is based on a definition of emotion that is no longer tenable given recent evidence concerning emotional processes. Rather, emotions are often reliable reflections of moral beliefs, and are open to conscious regulatory control, enabling the individual to use emotional responses to serve moral goals. In support of this, evidence is reviewed demonstrating the features of emotion-specifically the empathic response-that make it advantageous for the process of moral judgment. These features are then organized into a theoretical framework of moral judgment that describes the dialectic between affect and moral reasoning, thus allowing emotions to re-enter the arena of the study of moral reasoning and moral judgment.

Organizational Forms as Moral Practices: The Case of Welfare Departments

Abstract: Human service organizations that aim to change behavior inevitably do moral work. As institutionalized organizations, they enact in their structure and practices dominant moral systems. Moral systems and rules within them emanate from several sources, including nationally powerful interest groups and organizations, local constituencies, and organizational and street‐level moral entrepreneurs. By studying the historical transformation of welfare departments, I show how changes in the moral assumptions about poor single mothers have transformed the organizational forms and practices of these offices. In doing so, these forms and practices enact and enforce these moral rules on the clients.

Moral Tales of the Child and the Adult: Narratives of Contemporary Family Lives under Changing Circumstances

Abstract: Family lives are an area where people's moral identities are crucially at stake. Yet the significance of dependent children to the work needed to sustain morally adequate adult identities is largely overlooked. Furthermore, the particular situation of divorce or separation and repartnering where children are involved is fundamentally relevant to current sociological debates about the changing nature of marriage and family life. Notions of the pursuit of self-development and couple intimacy clash and create tensions with notions of duty or responsibility to children's needs. Drawing on a study of parents and step-parents, we consider how interviewees' moral understandings were fundamentally shaped by social constructions of the Child and the Adult. Importantly, the presence of dependent children led to an overall key moral imperative concerning the requirement for responsible adults to put the needs of children first. There were, however, strong gender dimensions in the ways in which this moral imperative was played out, and in some tensions with an alternative, but secondary, moral ethic of care of self. We discuss the significance of the Child/Adult construction in relation to theories about the nature of contemporary family obligations and of contemporary morality more generally.

The Death of Character: Moral Education in an Age Without Good or Evil

Abstract: "James Hunter has a talent for writing important books...With The Death of Character he has done it again."--Wilfred M. McClay, University of Tennessee. The Death of Character is a broad historical, sociological, and cultural inquiry into the moral life and moral education of young Americans based upon a huge empirical study of the children themselves. The children's thoughts and concerns-expressed here in their own words-shed a whole new light on what we can expect from moral education. Targeting new theories of education and the prominence of psychology over moral instruction, Hunter analyzes the making of a new cultural narcissism.

Corporate Transgressions through Moral Disengagement

Abstract: Corporate transgression is a well-known phenomenon in today's business world. Some corporations are involved in violations of law and moral rules that produce organizational practices and products that take a toll on the public. Social cognitive theory of moral agency provides a conceptual framework for analyzing how otherwise pro-social managers adopt socially injurious corporate practices. This is achieved through selective disengagement of moral self-sanctions from transgressive conduct. This article documents moral disengagement practices in four famous cases of corporate transgressions and discusses some implications for business ethics on how to counteract organizational use of moral disengagement strategies.

Moral uncertainty and its consequences

Abstract: We are often uncertain how to behave morally in complex situations. In this controversial study, Ted Lockhart contends that moral philosophy has failed to address how we make such moral decisions. Adapting decision theory to the task of decision-making under moral uncertainly, he proposes that we should not always act how we feel we ought to act, and that sometimes we should act against what we feel to be morally right. Lockhart also discusses abortion extensively and proposes new ways to deal with the ethical and moral issues which surround it.

Parent and Peer Contexts for Children's Moral Reasoning Development

Abstract: This study addressed the polarization among theoretical perspectives in moral psychology regarding the relative significance of parents and peers in children's developing moral maturity. The sample was composed of 60 target children from late childhood and midadolescence, 60 parents, and 60 friends who participated in parent/child and friend/child dyadic discussions of a series of moral conflicts. The quality of parents' and friends' verbal interactions, ego functioning, and level of moral reasoning in these discussions was used to predict the rate of children's moral reasoning development over a 4-year longitudinal interval. Results revealed that interactions with both parents and peers were predictive of children's development but that these two types of relationships influence development in rather different ways. Implications of the findings for the understanding of these socialization agents' roles in moral development are discussed.

Nursing, empathy and perception of the moral.

Abstract: Over the last 15-20 years we have witnessed a dramatic interest in the moral domain of clinical practice. There has also been a growing focus on the patient as an individual whose individuality and perspective must be respected. It is argued in this paper that a key to both these concerns is a consideration of the role of empathy in both perceiving the moral aspects and issues of practice, and in providing adequate support for patients. In this paper the meaning and components of empathy are discussed in the context of human receptivity and preconditions of moral performance. However, we also draw attention to empirical studies which suggest that even following adequate educational preparation, if the clinical environment and the structures within which care is delivered are not supportive, the practitioner's ability to perceive the moral is limited. In such circumstances, patients are in danger of receiving less than appropriate care - from both the moral and professional perspective.

The effects of issue characteristics on the recognition of moral issues

Abstract: The construct of moral intensity, proposed by Jones (1991), was used to predict the extent to which individuals were able to recognize moral issues. We tested for the effects of the six dimensions of moral intensity: social consensus, proximity, concentration of effect, probability of effect, temporal immediacy and magnitude of consequences. A scenario-based study, conducted among business individuals in Singapore, revealed that social consensus and magnitude of consequences influenced the recognition of moral issues. The study provided evidence for the effects of temporal immediacy. There was marginal support for the impact of proximity and probability of effect but no evidence that concentration of effect influenced recognition of moral issues. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results for researchers and organisational practitioners.

Rawls' Linguistic Analogy: A Study of the 'Generative Grammar' Model of Moral Theory Described by John Rawls in 'A Theory of Justice.' (Phd Dissertation, Cornell University, 2000)

Abstract: The aim of the dissertation is to formulate a research program in moral cognition modeled on aspects of Universal Grammar and organized around three classic problems in moral epistemology: (1) What constitutes moral knowledge? (2) How is moral knowledge acquired? (3) How is moral knowledge put to use? Drawing on the work of Rawls and Chomsky, a framework for investigating (1)-(3) is proposed. The framework is defended against a range of philosophical objections and contrasted with the approach of developmental psychologists like Piaget and Kohlberg.One chapter consists of an interpretation of the analogy Rawls draws in A Theory of Justice between moral theory and generative linguistics. A second chapter clarifies the empirical significance of Rawls' linguistic analogy by formulating a solution to the problem of descriptive adequacy with respect to a class of commonsense moral intuitions, including those discussed in the trolley problem literature originating in the work of Foot and Thomson. Three remaining chapters defend Rawls' linguistic analogy against its critics. In response to Hare's objection that Rawls' conception of moral theory is too empirical and insufficiently normative, it is argued that Hare fails to acknowledge both the centrality of the problem of empirical adequacy in the history of moral philosophy and the complexity of Rawls' approach to the problem of normative adequacy. In response to Nagel's claim that the analogy between moral theory and linguistics is false because whatever native speakers agree on is English, but whatever ordinary individuals agree in condemning is not necessarily wrong, it is argued that the criticism ignores both Rawls' use of the competence-performance distinction and the theory-dependence of the corresponding distinction in linguistics. In response to Dworkin's claim that Rawls' conception of moral theory is incompatible with naturalism and presupposes constructivism, it is argued that Dworkin's distinction between naturalism and constructivism represents a false antithesis; neither is an accurate interpretation of the model of moral theory Rawls describes in 'A Theory of Justice.' The thesis concludes by situating Rawls' linguistic analogy within the context of broader debates in moral philosophy, metaethics, natural law theory, the theory of moral development, and the cognitive and brain sciences.

Emotion, moral perception, and nursing practice

Abstract: Many of the activities of clinical practice happen to, with or upon vulnerable human beings. For this reason numerous nursing authors draw attention to or claim a significant moral domain in clinical practice. A number of nursing authors also discuss the emotional involvement and/or emotional labour which is often experienced in clinical practice. In this article I explore the importance of emotion for moral perception and moral agency. I suggest that an aspect of being a good nurse is having an emotional sensitivity to other human beings (patients), because this emotional sensitivity allows the nurse to perceive more accurately the context and perspective of the patient. It is thus important to the moral agency of the nurse and to morally sensitive clinical practice. As such education of the emotions should be a feature of the moral education of the nurse. A useful conception of the role of educated emotion in the moral life can be discovered in Aristotelian ethics.

Compulsory Ethics Education and the Cognitive Moral Development of Salespeople: A Quasi-Experimental Assessment

Abstract: This study investigated several basic research questions suggesting a positive relationship between education and cognitive moral development. More specifically, these research questions examined the relationship between government mandated ethics education and cognitive moral development by testing the efficacy of a compulsory ethics intervention. Kohlberg's (1969, 1984) Cognitive Moral Development Theory was applied to test the efficacy of compulsory ethics education on the moral development of real estate salespeople used comparative statistical measures of ethical reasoning ability.

Future generations : A challenge for moral theory

Abstract: For the last thirty years or so, there has been a search underway for a theory that canaccommodate our intuitions in regard to moral duties to future generations. The object ofthis search has prove ...

Studying Moral Ethos Using an Adapted Kohlbergian Model

Abstract: Alasdair MacIntyre's (1988) analysis of moral philosophy shows that liberal individualism, the dominant contemporary tradition, has failed to secure consensus on ethical principles. It follows that Kohlberg's stages model of socio-moral development, which proposes universal morality, lacks universal foundations. There are further pitfalls when applying the model to organizational moral ethos (OME). I argue that these problems can be circumvented, and I reformulate the Kohlberg model, building it into a framework for analyzing five interrelated sub-systems of organizational moral ethos. These are: approach to formal moral governance; basis of moral authority; deep implicit socialization; morality behind normative structure; and corporate outlook towards social responsibility. I present 19 propositions based on the core idea that in liberal individualist societies, postconventionally orientated OME would lead to a reduction in ethical dysfunctions such as bribery, discrimination, employee exploitation, dang...

Relationship of Family Socialization Processes to Adolescent Moral Thought

Abstract: The author investigated the relationship between salient family processes and adolescent moral thought among a sample of 271 adolescents and their parents. Family-process variables measured were adaptability, cohesion, and parent-adolescent communication; adolescent moral thought was measured by the influence the adolescent participants attributed to sources of moral authority. Perceptions of high family cohesion were associated with the greatest influence attributed to the family as a source of moral authority. Perceptions of high family adaptability were associated with greater influence attributed to all sources of moral authority. Parent-adolescent dyads who perceived high positive communication showed strong parent-adolescent agreement on the levels of influence attributed to all sources of moral authority. The findings (a) support the view that a strong relationship exists between family-socialization processes and the content of adolescent moral thought and (b) redress an empirical imbalance in research literature.

Moral teachings from unexpected quarters. Lessons for bioethics from the social sciences and managed care.

Abstract: On the usual account of moral reasoning, social science is often seen as able to provide “just the facts,” while philosophy attends to moral values and conceptual clarity and builds formally valid arguments. Yet disciplines are informed by epistemic values—and bioethics might do well to see social scientific practices and their attendant normative understandings about what is humanly important as a significant part of ethics generally.

Hedonism or empathy?: Hard-to-manage children's moral awareness and links with cognitive and maternal characteristics

Abstract: Disruptive children have long been thought to show hedonistic rather than empathic attitudes to moral dilemmas, but accounts of what underlies this stance vary in different theoretical perspectives. Candidate factors include: general problems in verbal reasoning, specific delays in social understanding, reduced affective responsiveness and control, and negative parental influences. The present study is novel in examining each of these factors in a preschool-aged sample of disruptive children. In addition, interview assessments of moral awareness were compared with real-life observations of peer interactions to examine the ecological validity of such tasks. The study is also unusual in adopting a longitudinal design: the stability of group differences in moral awareness and its correlates was examined across a 2-year period spanning the transition to school. At age 4, 40 hard-to-manage children and their typically developing peers received a moral judgments and justifications interview and were filmed playing with a friend (Slomkowski & Killen, 1992). At age 6, the two groups completed a moral-stories task (Arsenio & Fleiss, 1996). Significant group differences were found at both time points; these differences showed stable relations with each of the correlates above, although the relation between interview measures of moral awareness and real-life behaviour was rather more complex. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that disruptive children show early and multi-faceted problems in socio-moral reasoning, that are associated with difficulties in their family and peer relationships.

Challenges for Research Ethics and Moral Knowledge Construction in the Applied Social Sciences

Abstract: Certain critical accounts of conventional research practices in business and the social sciences are explored in this essay. These accounts derive from alternative social paradigms and their underlying assumptions about appropriate social inquiry and knowledge construction. Among these alternative social paradigms, metatheories, mindscapes, or worldviews are social constructionist, critical, feminist, and postmodern or poststructural thinking. Individuals with these assumptions and values for knowledge construction are increasingly challenging conventional scholarship in what has been referred to as paradigm debates or wars. Issues of incommensurability or cross-paradigmatic communication potentials, as well as reflexivity, are raised in terms of moral education and development potentials for applied social science fields. Barriers and suggestions for increased moral development in academic and professional communities are discussed. In particular, moral forums in which participants have enhanced intrapersonal and interpersonal communication skills appear to be needed to surface and share often taken-for-granted assumptions concerning moral knowledge construction.

Dispositions and Fetishes: Externalist Models of Moral Motivation*

Abstract: Internalism says that if an agent judges that it is right for her to 0, then she is motivated to 0. The disagreement between Internalists and Externalists runs deep, and it lingers even in the face of clever intuition pumps. An argument in Michael Smith's The Moral Problem seeks some leverage against Externalism from a point within normative theory. Smith argues by dilemma: Externalists either fail to explain why motivation tracks moral judgment in a good moral agent or they attribute a kind of fetishism to good moral agents. I argue that there are alternative models of moral motivation available to Externalists, in particular a model according to which a good moral agent is one who is effectively regulated by a second order desire to desire to do what is right.

The Role of Second‐Order Belief‐Understanding and Social Context in Children’s Self‐Attribution of Social Emotions

Abstract: Children’s self-attribution of social emotions was hypothesised (i) to be related to their second-order belief-understanding and (ii) to be more strongly related to social- conventional than moral rule violations. Thirty children aged between 4 and 7 years were presented with Sullivan, Zaitchik & Tager-Flusberg’s (1994) second-order false belief task and with four hypothetical scenarios in which they were required to imagine that they had violated particular moral and social conventional rules. As predicted, the self-attribution of social emotions was significantly related to second-order belief understanding, primarily in social-conventional rather than moral contexts.

It'sOnly Words -- Impacts of Information Technology on Moral Dialogue

Abstract: New forms of information technology, such as email, webpages and groupware, are being rapidly adopted. Intended to improve efficiency and effectiveness, these technologies also have the potential to radically alter the way people communicate in organizations. The effects can be positive or negative. This paper explores how technology can encourage or discourage moral dialogue -- communication that is open, honest, and respectful of participants. It develops a framework that integrates formal properties of ideal moral discourse, based on Habermas' (1984) theory of communicative action, with properties of informal communication that help sustain good moral conversations (Bird, 1996; Johannesen, 1996). Ten criteria distilled from these works form the basis of a template that can be used for assessing the positive and negative impacts of emerging information technologies on moral dialogue.

Stage, Sequence, and Sequels: Changing Conceptions of Morality, Post-Kohlberg

Abstract: The years since Kohlberg's death have marked a pivotal stage in moral psychology. The field is addressing a number of critical questions and pursuing new themes and approaches as it continues to (re)define itself in the course of its own development. This paper presents a brief overview of some of these emerging themes within the context of the traditional cognitive–developmental approach to moral socialization. In particular, it highlights changing conceptions of the moral person and raises questions about the implications of these changes for the role of reason in contemporary moral psychology.