Showing papers on "Social cognitive theory of morality published in 2004"
TL;DR: There is substantial and important scope, particularly in Computer Ethics, for the concept of moral agent not necessarily exhibiting free will, mental states or responsibility, as well as the extension of the class of agents and moral agents to embrace AAs.
Abstract: Artificial agents (AAs), particularly but not only those in Cyberspace, extend the class of entities that can be involved in moral situations. For they can be conceived of as moral patients (as entities that can be acted upon for good or evil) and also as moral agents (as entities that can perform actions, again for good or evil). In this paper, we clarify the concept of agent and go on to separate the concerns of morality and responsibility of agents (most interestingly for us, of AAs). We conclude that there is substantial and important scope, particularly in Computer Ethics, for the concept of moral agent not necessarily exhibiting free will, mental states or responsibility. This complements the more traditional approach, common at least since Montaigne and Descartes, which considers whether or not (artificial) agents have mental states, feelings, emotions and so on. By focussing directly on ‘mind-less morality’ we are able to avoid that question and also many of the concerns of Artificial Intelligence. A vital component in our approach is the ‘Method of Abstraction’ for analysing the level of abstraction (LoA) at which an agent is considered to act. The LoA is determined by the way in which one chooses to describe, analyse and discuss a system and its context. The ‘Method of Abstraction’ is explained in terms of an ‘interface’ or set of features or observables at a given ‘LoA’. Agenthood, and in particular moral agenthood, depends on a LoA. Our guidelines for agenthood are: interactivity (response to stimulus by change of state), autonomy (ability to change state without stimulus) and adaptability (ability to change the ‘transition rules’ by which state is changed) at a given LoA. Morality may be thought of as a ‘threshold’ defined on the observables in the interface determining the LoA under consideration. An agent is morally good if its actions all respect that threshold; and it is morally evil if some action violates it. That view is particularly informative when the agent constitutes a software or digital system, and the observables are numerical. Finally we review the consequences for Computer Ethics of our approach. In conclusion, this approach facilitates the discussion of the morality of agents not only in Cyberspace but also in the biosphere, where animals can be considered moral agents without their having to display free will, emotions or mental states, and in social contexts, where systems like organizations can play the role of moral agents. The primary ‘cost’ of this facility is the extension of the class of agents and moral agents to embrace AAs.
685 citations
TL;DR: For instance, the authors explored the extent to which college students construe genetic engineering issues as moral problems and found that moral considerations were significant influences on decision-making, indicating a tendency for students to construe these issues as a moral problem.
Abstract: The ability to negotiate and resolve socioscientific issues has been posited as integral components of scientific literacy. Although philosophers and science educators have argued that socioscientific issues inherently involve moral and ethical considerations, the ultimate arbiters of morality are individual decision-makers. This study explored the extent to which college students construe genetic engineering issues as moral problems. Twenty college students participated in interviews designed to elicit their ideas, reactions, and feelings regarding a series of gene therapy and cloning scenarios. Qualitative analyses revealed that moral considerations were significant influences on decision-making, indicating a tendency for students to construe genetic engineering issues as moral problems. Students engaged in moral reasoning based on utilitarian analyses of consequences as well as the application of principles. Issue construal was also influenced by affective features such as emotion and intuition. In addition to moral considerations, a series of other factors emerged as important dimensions of socioscientific decision-making. These factors included personal experiences, family biases, background knowledge, and the impact of popular culture. The implications for classroom science instruction and future research are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed88:4–27, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/.sce10101
408 citations
TL;DR: This article presents a selective summary of these literatures with the goal of showing how they can be integrated into a single, coherent model.
Abstract: Social information processing and moral domain theories have developed in relative isolation from each other despite their common focus on intentional harm and victimization, and mutual emphasis on social cognitive processes in explaining aggressive, morally relevant behaviors. This article presents a selective summary of these literatures with the goal of showing how they can be integrated into a single, coherent model. An essential aspect of this integration is Crick and Dodge's (1994) distinction between latent mental structures and online processing. It is argued that moral domain theory is relevant for describing underlying mental structures regarding the nature and boundaries of what is moral, whereas the social information processing model describes the online information processing that affects application of moral structures during peer interactions.
334 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined and elaborated the theory of agency as self-regulation contained within Bandura's social cognitive theory in the context of the relevant philosophical history of ideas and through consideration of recent work in theoretical developmental psychology, and suggested that the understanding of agency contained within social cognitive theories as elaborated herein might be developed as an alternative to conceptions of selfregulation and agency within constructivist and socioculturalist theorizing in educational psychology.
Abstract: The conception and theory of agency as self-regulation that is contained within Bandura's social cognitive theory is examined and elaborated in the context of the relevant philosophical history of ideas and through consideration of recent work in theoretical developmental psychology. Implications for self-regulated learning in classrooms are considered. In particular, it is suggested that the understanding of agency contained within social cognitive theory as elaborated herein might be developed as an alternative to conceptions of self-regulation and agency within constructivist and socioculturalist theorizing in educational psychology. However, the classroom application of such an alternative would require a much less dualistic and teacher-directed form of teaching than suggested in much past and current social cognitive work on self-regulation.
269 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a three-dimensional model of social capital demonstrated how social interaction, trust, and shared vision enable social ties associated with religiousness to influence moral behavior of adolescents.
Abstract: Although existing literature demonstrates that developmental benefits are associated with religion for adolescents, little is understood about the dynamics of this relationship. Drawing on social capital theory, this study tested a conceptual model exploring socially embedded religious influences on moral outcomes. A three-dimensional model of social capital demonstrated how social interaction, trust, and shared vision enable social ties associated with religiousness to influence moral behavior. Structural equation modeling was used with data gathered from 735 urban youths to test a proposed model of the effects of religiousness on moral outcomes. Results suggested that religiously active youths report higher levels of social capital resources and that the influence of adolescent religiousness on moral outcomes was mediated through social capital resources. Suggestions for further research and implications for faith-based youth development organizations are considered.
268 citations
TL;DR: The findings indicate that moral excellence can be exemplified in rather divergent ways and that understanding of moral functioning would be enhanced by attention to this wider range of moral virtues.
Abstract: People's conceptions of different types of moral exemplarity were examined in an attempt to augment the current emphasis on moral rationality with a fuller understanding of moral personality In Study 1 (with 805 adults), a free-listing procedure was used to generate the attributes of 3 types of moral exemplars (just, brave, and caring) In Study 2 (with 401 undergraduates), prototypicality- and personality-rating procedures were used to generate a personality profile for each type of moral exemplar and to examine the relations among them In Study 3 (with 240 undergraduates), a similarity-sorting procedure was used to identify the typologies implicit in people's understanding of these different types of moral exemplarity The findings indicate that moral excellence can be exemplified in rather divergent ways and that understanding of moral functioning would be enhanced by attention to this wider range of moral virtues
235 citations
26 Apr 2004
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a theory of the moral self and its relation with the self-concept, which they call Identity as Motivation, towards a Theory of the Moral Self.
Abstract: Contents: Preface. L.J. Walker, Gus in the Gap: Bridging the Judgment-Action Gap in Moral Functioning. R. Bergman, Identity as Motivation: Toward a Theory of the Moral Self. F.C. Power, The Moral Self in Community. R. Atkins, D. Hart, T.M. Donnelly, Moral Identity Development and School Attachment. D. Moshman, False Moral Identity: Self-Serving Denial in the Maintenance of Moral Self-Conceptions. L. Nucci, Reflections on the Moral Self Construct. M. Nisan, Judgement and Choice in Moral Functioning. B. Puka, Altruism and Character. D.K. Lapsley, D. Narvaez, A Social-Cognitive Approach to the Moral Personality. W. Edelstein, T. Krettenauer, Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen: Moving Beyond the Modal Levels in Normal Development. T. Wren, C. Mendoza, Cultural Identity and Personal Identity: Philosophical Reflections on the Identity Discourse of Social Psychology. M. Keller, Self in Relationship. G. Nunner-Winkler, Sociohistoric Changes in the Structure of Moral Motivation. A. Blasi, Moral Functioning: Moral Understanding and Personality.
228 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted in-depth, elite interviews with advertising practitioners at all levels in 29 agencies in eight cities and found that many of them exhibited "moral myopia", a distortion of moral vision that prevents moral issues from coming into focus, and "moral muteness," meaning that they rarely talk about ethical issues.
Abstract: This study examines how advertising agency personnel perceive, process, and think about ethical issues. We conducted in-depth, elite interviews with advertising practitioners at all levels in 29 agencies in eight cities. Many of our informants reported few ethical concerns in their own work or in advertising in general. They exhibited "moral myopia," a distortion of moral vision that prevents moral issues from coming into focus, and "moral muteness," meaning that they rarely talk about ethical issues. We find that the reasons for moral muteness and moral myopia are categorizable. There were, however, "seeing/talking" advertising practitioners who demonstrated "moral imagination" when responding to ethical problems. We compare the manner in which the ethically sensitive practitioners contemplate and respond to ethical issues with those characterized as having moral muteness and moral myopia. We also find that the agency context in which advertising practitioners work is important in terms of ethical sensit...
221 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of proximity to patients on nurses' moral responsiveness was examined, particularly as it affects nurses" moral distress, and the authors argued that nurse's tendency to define itself in relation to the closeness of the nurse-patient relationship leads to problems of moral ambiguity.
Abstract: The physical nearness, or proximity, inherent in the nurse-patient relationship has been central in the discipline as definitive of the nature of nursing and its moral ideals. Clearly, this nearness is in service to those in need of care. This proximity, however, is not unproblematic because it contributes to two of the most prolonged difficulties, both for individual nurses and the discipline of nursing--moral distress and moral ambiguity. In this paper we explore proximity using both a moral and geographical lens and offer some insights regarding this practice reality. We examine the effect of proximity to patients on nurses' moral responsiveness, particularly as it affects nurses' moral distress. Proximity is paradoxical in this regard because, while it propels nurses to act, it can also propel nurses to ignore or abandon. Likewise, we argue that nursing's tendency to define itself in relation to the closeness of the nurse-patient relationship leads to problems of moral ambiguity. Our recommendations include moving others closer to the bedside and thus to the work of nursing in the literal and theoretical sense.
214 citations
TL;DR: The authors explore children's use of intention information in evaluating the moral quality of others' actions and links among mental state understanding, motives-based moral reasoning, and children's own moral behavior.
Abstract: The authors explore children's use of intention information in evaluating the moral quality of others' actions. They also address links among mental state understanding, motives-based moral reasoning, and children's own moral behavior.
183 citations
TL;DR: This paper proposed the concept of an ethic of community to complement and extend other ethical frames used in education (e.g. the ethics of justice, critique, and care) to complement the traditional definition of ethics as the study of moral duty and obligation.
Abstract: This article proposes the concept of an ethic of community to complement and extend other ethical frames used in education (e.g. the ethics of justice, critique, and care). Proceeding from the traditional definition of ethics as the study of moral duty and obligation, ethic of community is defined as the moral responsibility to engage in communal processes as educators pursue the moral purposes of their work and address the ongoing challenges of daily life and work in schools. The ethic of community thus centers the communal over the individual as the primary locus of moral agency in schools. The usefulness of the ethic of community in regard to achieving the moral purposes of schooling is illustrated with the example of social justice. The author concludes that the ethic of community is a vehicle that can synthesize much of the current work on leadership practices related to social justice and other moral purposes of educational leadership.
TL;DR: The authors argues that an emphasis on the profession's knowledge base has come at the expense of paying attention to social work's values and mission, and argues that social work must respond to the moral imperative of caring for the neediest among us.
Abstract: Summary This paper argues that an emphasis on the profession’s knowledge base has come at the expense of attention to social work’s values and mission. The discussion examines the relative importance of knowledge, values and skills in an effort to understand the shifting emphases of the profession within a social and historical context. The consequences of these shifts for the profession and for its relationship to society are also considered. Concepts from the intellectual struggles of social work and from an interdisciplinary perspective suggest ways to ground the profession’s skills and knowledge in its values of human dignity, service to humanity and social justice. At its core, social work must respond to the moral imperative of caring for the neediest among us. This entails re-claiming and building on the commitment of early social workers ‘to work with forces that make for progress . . . to forward the advance of the . . . common people’ (Richmond, 1899, p. 151). The paper concludes that for social work to have a future, the profession must take pride in its moral core, define its contemporary meaning and work for the social welfare in ways that are relevant to both social workers and non-social workers.
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01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: Common Morality as discussed by the authors is a moral system that most thoughtful people implicitly use when making everyday, common sense moral decisions and judgments and it is useful in that it is able to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable answers to moral problems.
Abstract: Moral problems do not always come in the form of great social controversies. More often, the moral decisions we make are made quietly, constantly, and within the context of everyday activities and quotidian dilemmas. Indeed, these smaller decisions are based on a moral foundation that few of us ever stop to think about but which guides our every action. Here distinguished philosopher Bernard Gert presents a clear and concise introduction to what he calls "common morality"-the moral system that most thoughtful people implicitly use when making everyday, common sense moral decisions and judgments. Common Morality is useful in that-while not resolving every disagreement on controversial issues-it is able to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable answers to moral problems.
TL;DR: The genesis of the moral leadership concept in educational administration and examples of studies exploring this idea during the 1979-2003 period are discussed in this paper. But the authors recommend more contextually sensitive descriptive studies with a focus on the social relations among school leaders and others, giving particular attention, in a phenomenological sense, to the meanings, perspectives, and espoused purposes of school leaders' actions, social relationships, and interpersonal orientations.
Abstract: The genesis of the moral leadership concept in educational administration and examples of studies exploring this idea during the 1979‐2003 period are discussed. The author recommends more contextually sensitive descriptive studies with a focus on the social relations among school leaders and others, giving particular attention, in a phenomenological sense, to the meanings, perspectives, and espoused purposes of school leaders’ actions, social relationships, and interpersonal orientations.
TL;DR: This paper found that the nature of the self-other relationship, rather than gender, predicts moral reasoning, with women feeling connected to others and using a care approach, whereas men feel separate from others and adopt a justice approach.
Abstract: Theorists suggest that gender differences in moral reasoning are due to differences in the self-concept, with women feeling connected to others and using a care approach, whereas men feel separate from others and adopt a justice approach. Using a self-categorization analysis, the current research suggests that the nature of the self–other relationship, rather than gender, predicts moral reasoning. Study 1 found moral reasoning to be dependent upon the social distance between the self and others, with a care-based approach more likely when interacting with a friend than a stranger. Study 2 suggests that when individuals see others as ingroup members they are more likely to utilize care-based moral reasoning than when others are seen as outgroup members. Further, traditional gender differences in moral reasoning were found only when gender was made salient. These studies suggest that both the self and moral reasoning are better conceptualized as fluid and context dependent.
TL;DR: The intersection of psychiatry and the moral emotions is discussed, providing case examples and a review of empirical studies to illustrate the relevance of patients’ concerns about their moral choices to psychiatric evaluation and practice.
Abstract: There has been increased philosophical, psychological, and, more recently, psychiatric interest in the moral emotions, most specifically the emotions of guilt, shame, regret, and remorse. Interest in these emotions has not been in their role as symptoms of a particular mental illness, but in their presence in everyday life and in their importance in defining our character and our very humanity. Moral emotions are those emotions that arise in the context of life experiences and daily choices that bear upon our perceptions of the rightness or wrongness of particular actions or inactions. Human beings have a moral scanner that constantly provides both a cognitive judgment and a feeling tone of ease or unease in the moral evaluation of life's moment-to-moment activities. This paper discusses the intersection of psychiatry and the moral emotions, providing case examples and a review of empirical studies to illustrate the relevance of patients' concerns about their moral choices to psychiatric evaluation and practice.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that in order to understand how the culture-nature relationship reflects and produces moral judgements, there is a need to investigate how the production and meaning of a lived landscape becomes a moral landscape.
Abstract: Human interaction with the environment, particularly when the latter is conceived as nature, is often measured against moral standards for ‘appropriate behaviour’. Different, and frequently conflicting, ways of being-in-the-world are the theme of moral geographies. This paper seeks to elucidate the relation between morality, landscape and environmental practice by focusing upon a particular Scandinavian case. The Jaeren district on the south-western coast of Norway has become one of the most intensively farmed areas in the country, undergoing radical changes causing contemporary farmers to become subject to moral condemnation from a wide range of bodies and people. The paper argues that in order to understand how the culture-nature relationship reflects and produces moral judgements there is a need to investigate how the production and meaning of a lived landscape becomes a moral landscape. Two questions are addressed: What is the ‘nature’ of the moral geographies in the area? How do differing ‘moral geogr...
TL;DR: Erlbaum and Gerwitz as discussed by the authors propose that transactional, personalized charismatic leaders who are politically astute may create an environment where their subordinates commit crimes of obedience, and they conclude with some recommendations on how to run an organization effectively, yet with moral issues activated.
Abstract: Generally, corporate scandals occur because of the actions of a number of people. We propose that transactional, personalized charismatic leaders who are politically astute may create an environment where their subordinates commit crimes of obedience. According to social cognitive theory, individuals behave immorally by disengaging their self-regulatory mechanisms [ Org. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process 50 (1991a) 248; Bandura, A. (1991b). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In W.M. Kurtines and J.L. Gerwitz, (Eds.), Handbook of moral behavior and development (vol. 1, pp. 45–103). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum]. Leaders can cognitively reconstrue the conduct to convince the subordinates that the behavior is morally justified. The employees can disclaim their agentive role in the consequences of the action and leaders can use their authority, power, status, and social influence to convince employees that they have no choice in their behavior. The organizational structure may allow employees to “just do their jobs” without consideration of the consequences. Finally, leaders can frame behavior in such a way that others believe there really are no negative consequences, and thus, no victims. We conclude with some recommendations on how to run an organization effectively, yet with moral issues activated.
TL;DR: It is recommended that nurses develop strong moral identities, make visible the inseparability of their proximity to patients and moral accountability, and further identify what forms of collective action are most effective in improving the moral habitability of the nursing working environment.
Abstract: Background. Following health reform, nurses have experienced the tremendous stress of heavy workloads, long hours and difficult professional responsibilities. In recognition of these problems, a study was conducted that examined the impact of the working environment on the health of nurses. After conducting focus groups across Canada with nurses and others well acquainted with nursing issues, it became clear that the difficult work environments described had significant ethical implications.
Aim. The aim of this paper is to report the findings of research that examined the moral habitability of the nursing working environment.
Methods. A secondary analysis was conducted using the theoretical work of Margaret Urban Walker. Moral practices and responsibilities from Walker's perspective cannot be extricated from other social roles, practices and divisions of labour. Moral-social orders, such as work environments in this research, must be made transparent to examine their moral habitability. Morally habitable environments are those in which differently situated people experience their responsibilities as intelligible and coherent. They also foster recognition, cooperation and shared benefits.
Findings. Four overarching categories were developed through the analysis of the data: (1) oppressive work environments; (2) incoherent moral understandings; (3) moral suffering and (4) moral influence and resistance. The findings clearly indicate that participants perceived the work environment to be morally uninhabitable. The social and spatial positioning of nurses left them vulnerable to being overburdened by and unsure of their responsibilities. Nevertheless, nurses found meaningful ways to resist and to influence the moral environment.
Conclusions. We recommend that nurses develop strong moral identities, make visible the inseparability of their proximity to patients and moral accountability, and further identify what forms of collective action are most effective in improving the moral habitability of their work environments.
TL;DR: Social information processing theory has been posited as a description of how mental operations affect behavioral responding in social situations, and numerous additional concepts about the nature of latent mental structures provide equally compelling refinements to processing theory.
Abstract: Social information processing theory has been posited as a description of how mental operations affect behavioral responding in social situations. Arsenio and Lemerise (this issue) proposed that consideration of concepts and methods from moral domain models could enhance this description. This paper agrees with their proposition, although it suggests that numerous additional concepts about the nature of latent mental structures (e.g., working models, schemas, scripts, object relations, classical conditioning) provide equally compelling refinements to processing theory. Furthermore, theoretical and methodological challenges in integrating latent mental structures into processing theory remain.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take Confucian entrepreneurs as an entry point to portray the dynamics and problems involved in the process of putting moral precepts into practice, a central issue in business ethics.
Abstract: The present study takes Confucian entrepreneurs as an entry point to portray the dynamics and problems involved in the process of putting moral precepts into practice, a central issue in business ethics. Confucian entrepreneurs are defined as the owners of manufacturing or business firms who harbor the moral values of Confucianism. Other than a brief account of their historical background, 41 subjects from various parts of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were selected for in-depth interviews. By studying the moral choices they made in the market, it was discovered that, contrary to the prevalent mode of inquiry in economics either to reduce all social phenomena to rational calculations or to consider moral actions in terms of utilitarian values, their economic action cannot be accounted for by the postulate of utility maximization, and that the efforts to do business according to their moral principles can be very costly. The study also attempts to document how these Confucian entrepreneurs reconciled the conflict between the moral values they cherished and the instrumental goals they pursued, and will seek to uncover how they responded when faced with this dilemma.
TL;DR: It was found that moral exemplars, in contrast to comparison individuals, were more agreeable, more advanced in their faith and moral reasoning development, further along in forming an adult identity, and more willing to enter into close relationships.
Abstract: The personality of exemplary young adults was studied in an effort to paint a portrait of moral excellence that expanded upon the traditional emphasis on moral reasoning maturity. These young adults were nominated based on their extraordinary moral commitment towards various social organizations. The sample included 40 moral exemplars and 40 matched comparison individuals who responded to a battery of questionnaires and participated in a semistructured interview. It was found that moral exemplars, in contrast to comparison individuals, were more agreeable, more advanced in their faith and moral reasoning development, further along in forming an adult identity, and more willing to enter into close relationships. These findings are discussed in the context of describing moral excellence from a multifaceted, personality perspective.
TL;DR: Models of how people perceive moral aspects of socio-scientific issues suggest that moral and non-moral concerns act in concern as they influence socio- scientific decision-making.
Abstract: This study explores models of how people perceive moral aspects of socio-scientific issues. Thirty college students participated in interviews during which they discussed their reactions to and resolutions of two genetic engineering issues. The interview data were analyzed qualitatively to produce an emergent taxonomy of moral concerns recognized by the participant. The participants expressed sensitivity to moral aspects including concern and empathy for the well-being of others, an aversion to altering the natural order and slippery slope implications. In arriving at their final resolutions, many participants integrated their moral concerns with non-moral factors. The patterns revealed suggest that moral and non-moral concerns act in concern as they influence socio-scientific decision-making.
TL;DR: The authors showed that participants who respond as nonobjectivists about canonical moral violations still treat such violations in typical ways on the moral/conventional task, and that many of the central characteristics of moral judgment are preserved in the absence of a commitment to moral objectivity.
Abstract: This paper develops an empirical argument that the rejection of moral objectivity leaves important features of moral judgment intact. In each of five reported experiments, a number of participants endorsed a nonobjectivist claim about a canonical moral violation. In four of these experiments, participants were also given a standard measure of moral judgment, the moral/conventional task. In all four studies, participants who respond as nonobjectivists about canonical moral violations still treat such violations in typical ways on the moral/conventional task. In particular, participants who give moral nonobjectivist responses still draw a clear distinction between canonical moral and conventional violations. Thus there is some reason to think that many of the central characteristics of moral judgment are preserved in the absence of a commitment to moral objectivity.
TL;DR: In this article, Haidt's proposal for a moral intutionist theory of morality is criticised on psychological and philosophical grounds, including the apparent reduction of social influence to one kind.
Abstract: Jon Haidt's (2001) proposal for a moral intutionist theory of morality is criticized on psychological and philosophical grounds, including (a) the apparent reduction of social influence to one kind...
TL;DR: This article investigated the role that identity integration (the extent to which one's moral values have become integrated into identity) and religious orientation (one's motivation for engaging in religious practice) play in moral functioning and found positive correlations among moral reasoning, identity integration, intrinsic religious orientation, and self-reported altruism.
Abstract: Although moral reasoning is able to account for some of the variability in moral behavior, much remains unexplained. Recently, a number of components of personality have been proposed as bridging the gap between moral reasoning and moral behavior. The present study investigates the role that identity integration (the extent to which one's moral values have become integrated into identity) and religious orientation (one's motivation for engaging in religious practice) play in moral functioning. A sample of 60 undergraduates was assessed on identity integration, religious orientation, moral reasoning, and self-reported altruism. We found positive correlations among moral reasoning, identity integration, intrinsic religious orientation, and self-reported altruism. A hierarchical regression analysis, however, revealed moral reasoning to be the only significant predictor of self-reported altruistic behavior. We discuss the relationship between moral reasoning and identity integration and the extent to which the intrinsic religious orientation scale may be a measure of identity integration in the religious domain.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined differences in the perceptions of the underlying characteristics of moral issues on the specific steps of the moral decision-making process of four different accounting situations and found that moral issues had a profound impact on the decision making process within the field of accounting.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the impact of moral issues on the moral decision-making process within the field of accounting. In particular, the study examined differences in the perceptions of the underlying characteristics of moral issues on the specific steps of the moral decision-making process of four different accounting situations.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that trust is more likely to occur and to be prevalent when actors have the spatial capability for personal, direct interaction and that proximity and trust are positively related to each other.
Abstract: Network interaction is embedded in social settings, which allows for the development of trust. Trust is supposed to be an efficient functional equivalent of contracts, guarantees, insurances, safeguards, etc. Trust between actors reduces transaction costs. However, trust cannot be introduced and enforced within interaction relationships. It is argued that trust is more likely to occur and to be prevalent when actors have the spatial capability for personal, direct interaction. Thus, proximity and trust are supposed to be positively related to each other. Proximity is strongly interrelated with embeddedness. In the discussion about morality in organisations, there is an assumption we referred to as the 'moral spill-over effect': it is impossible, it is said, to restrict moral competencies and moral behaviour to one particular situation, environment, or topic. However, we argue that, even though trust is a term that is described in moral theory, trust and morality are not necessarily positively correlated. ...
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of the fundamental features of Confucian thinking on moral education shows that it took the idea that human beings have a good and kind nature as its logical starting point.
Abstract: Ancient Chinese ideas of moral education could be said to have five main dimensions – philosophical foundations, content, principles, methods and evaluation – which are described in this paper. An analysis of the fundamental features of Confucian thinking on moral education shows that it took the idea that human beings have a good and kind nature as its logical starting point. It built a system of ethical norms, based on the idea that an individual's feelings come from the inner mind, combined with external rites. Its methods of moral education are diverse, with an emphasis on learning from exemplars, environmental conditions and practice, as well as the cultivation of moral responsibility and social commitment. Its quintessential ideas were ‘virtue lies in practice’ and ‘life is moral education’. The paper concludes by arguing that Confucian thinking on moral education has ongoing value for research and practice in contemporary moral education.
TL;DR: The authors investigated the extent to which parents' moral thought and family processes are involved in the socialization of adolescent moral thought, and found that perceived family cohesion and communication moderated the father-adolescent moral thought relationship.
Abstract: This study investigated the extent to which parents' moral thought and family processes are involved in the socialization of adolescent moral thought. Olson et al's (1992) Circumplex Model and White's (2000) Family Socialization Model provided the conceptual framework for predicting that families high in cohesion, adaptability and communication would facilitate the transmission of moral values between parents and adolescents more effectively than families low in these family processes. Results involving 218 adolescent-parent dyads revealed that perceived family cohesion and communication moderated the father-adolescent moral thought relationship; that several facets of both parents' morality significantly predicted adolescents' morality; and that all three family processes significantly predicted certain aspects of adolescent morality. Therefore the extent to which parents' socialize adolescent moral values will vary according to each parent's moral view, the strength of family processes and the content of moral thought being transmitted.