scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers on "Social cognitive theory of morality published in 2020"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper takes a realistic look at recent attempts to program and to train robots to develop some form of moral competence, and argues that the second is the more responsible choice.
Abstract: As robots are deployed in a widening range of situations, it is necessary to develop a clearer position about whether or not they can be trusted to make good moral decisions In this paper, we take a realistic look at recent attempts to program and to train robots to develop some form of moral competence Examples of implemented robot behaviours that have been described as 'ethical', or 'minimally ethical' are considered, although they are found to operate only in quite constrained and limited application domains There is a general recognition that current robots cannot be described as full moral agents, but it is less clear whether will always be the case Concerns are raised about the insufficiently justified use of terms such as 'moral' and 'ethical' to describe the behaviours of robots that are often more related to safety considerations than to moral ones Given the current state of the art, two possible responses are identified The first involves continued efforts to develop robots that are capable of ethical behaviour The second is to argue against, and to attempt to avoid, placing robots in situations that demand moral competence and an understanding of the surrounding social situation There is something to be gained from both responses, but it is argued here that the second is the more responsible choice

29 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
23 Mar 2020
TL;DR: This paper examines one alternate framework for the design of morally competent robots, Confucian ethics, and explores how designers may use this framework to enable morally sensitive human-robot communication through three distinct perspectives.
Abstract: It is critical for designers of language-capable robots to enable some degree of moral competence in those robots. This is especially critical at this point in history due to the current research climate, in which much natural language generation research focuses on language modeling techniques whose general approach may be categorized as "fabrication by imitation" (the titular mechanical "bull"), which is especially unsuitable in robotic contexts. Furthermore, it is critical for robot designers seeking to enable moral competence to consider previously under-explored moral frameworks that place greater emphasis than traditional Western frameworks on care, equality, and social justice, as the current sociopolitical climate has seen a rise of movements such as libertarian capitalism that have undermined those societal goals. In this paper we examine one alternate framework for the design of morally competent robots, Confucian ethics, and explore how designers may use this framework to enable morally sensitive human-robot communication through three distinct perspectives: (1) How should a robot reason? (2) What should a robot say? and (3) How should a robot act?

21 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The support of students by morally competent teachers and monitors, the development of methods that provide theDevelopment of critical judgement and decision-making ability, and the increase of hours for the Bioethics course unit seem crucial factors to develop nursing students' moral competence.

17 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Euro-MCD 2.0 is shorter, less complex and more strongly substantiated by an integration of empirical findings, theoretical reflections and dialogues with participants and experts and will strengthen future research on evaluation of outcomes of MCD.
Abstract: Clinical Ethics Support (CES) services are offered to support healthcare professionals in dealing with ethically difficult situations. Evaluation of CES is important to understand if it is indeed a supportive service in order to inform and improve future implementation of CES. Yet, methods to measure outcomes of CES are scarce. In 2014, the European Moral Case Deliberation Outcomes Instrument (Euro-MCD) was developed to measure outcomes of Moral Case Deliberation (MCD). To further validate the instrument, we tested it in field studies and revised it. This paper presents the Euro-MCD 2.0 and describes the revision process. The revision process comprised an iterative dialogue among the authors as Euro-MCD-project team, including empirical findings from six Euro-MCD field-studies and input from European experts in CES and theory. Empirical findings contained perceptions and experiences of MCD outcomes among healthcare professionals who participated in MCDs in various settings in Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. Theoretical viewpoints on CES, literature on goals of CES and MCD and ethics theory guided the interpretation of the empirical findings and final selection of MCD outcomes. The Euro-MCD 2.0 Instrument includes three domains: Moral Competence, Moral Teamwork and Moral Action. Moral Competence consists of items about moral sensitivity, analytical skills and virtuous attitude. Moral Teamwork includes open dialogue and supportive relationships and Moral Action refers to moral decision-making and responsible care. During the revision process, we made decisions about adding and reformulating items as well as decreasing the number from 26 to 15 items. We also altered the sentence structure of items to assess the current status of outcomes (e.g. ‘now’) instead of an assumed improvement over time (e.g. ‘better’) and we omitted the question about perceived importance. The Euro-MCD 2.0 is shorter, less complex and more strongly substantiated by an integration of empirical findings, theoretical reflections and dialogues with participants and experts. Use of the Euro-MCD 2.0 will facilitate evaluation of MCD and can thereby monitor and foster implementation and quality of MCD. The Euro-MCD 2.0 will strengthen future research on evaluation of outcomes of MCD.

15 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
31 Mar 2020
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace how a leader's values are progressively and collectively materialized into artifacts that create new relationships in which the organization's desirable ends are to be met.
Abstract: In this article, we contribute to empirically account for Selznick’s argument about the moral competence of organizations by showing the ways an organization collectively thinks, acts, feels and expresses needs (Callon, 2006) related to its desirable ends. These are related to the socio-technical arrangements processing the values work. Made up of devices, actors, and social groups, the socio-technical arrangements are brought into existence by means of material embodiments of values in artifacts. Considering the case of a leader who has founded a firm in the social and solidarity sector in order to implement his personal values, we contribute to better understanding value-based leadership. We trace how this leader’s values are progressively and collectively materialized into artifacts that create new relationships in which the organization’s desirable ends are to be met. Adopting a relational and processual view on values work, we trace the evolution of this socio-technical arrangement to maintain or restore the implementation of organizational values in an evolving context, contributing to a dynamic view on organizational values.

10 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The moral competence levels were not correlated with years of training in either mode of involvement or with type of sports, and it is assumed that the type of sport and the level of engagement do not differentiate moral competence level and that there must be more factors contributing to this.
Abstract: The study examined the moral competence levels in adolescents participating in individual/team sports compared with those not undertaking sports at all. In total, 827 students aged 15–17 years old (45.4% boys, 54.6% girls) from randomly selected secondary schools in the Wielkopolska region in Poland participated in the study. The moral competences were assessed using the Lind’s Moral Competence Test. The students also answered questions concerning their statues of involvement in sport (not involved; amateur; professional), years of involvement, and the type of sport they partook in (individual/team). The results highlight that the moral competence level in most of the examined adolescents (71.6% girls, 76.8% boys) was low. Those who presented a high moral competence level were 10.4% in girls, 8% in boys. There was no interaction between modes of involvement in sport and moral competence when comparing adolescents. The moral competence levels were not correlated with years of training in either mode of involvement or with type of sports. Therefore, we assume that, at this age, the type of sport and the level of engagement do not differentiate moral competence level and that there must be more factors contributing to this. This opens new directions for further research on the role of external factors stimulating the socio-moral growth of youth.

3 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Three ethical conflicts in particular are paradigmatic of what the authors define as “clerkship ethics,” which forces medical students to balance doing what is morally fitting against the perceived expectations of the medical teams in which they work.
Abstract: Three ethical conflicts in particular are paradigmatic of what we define as "clerkship ethics." First, a distinction that differentiates the clerkship student from the practicing physician involves the student's principal role as a learner. The clerkship student must skillfully balance her commitment to her own education against her commitment to patient care in a fashion that may compromise patient care. While the practicing physician can often resolve the tension between these two goods when they come into conflict, the clerkship student is left with a more ambiguous set of choices. Second, evaluative scrutiny during clinical clerkships often forces medical students to balance doing what is morally fitting against the perceived expectations of the medical teams in which they work. Third and finally, a deeply entrenched culture of medical hierarchy presents a particular challenge to innovation and improvement in ethics education during the clerkship years. Students regard faculty as exemplars, but are not provided with the tools to assess when technical medical competence is not matched by moral competence; moreover, these faculty are unlikely to have experienced the ethics education in which students are asked to demonstrate mastery.

3 citations


Book ChapterDOI
04 Dec 2020
TL;DR: In this article, three aspects of teaching ethics are discussed: reflection, multicultural classrooms, and narrative, and the first aspect acknowledges that trying to help people recognise moral issues and have the courage and capacity to respond is harder than teaching and examining theoretical learning.
Abstract: Three aspects of teaching ethics are discussed. It deals with reflection, multicultural classrooms, and narrative. The first aspect acknowledges that trying to help people recognise moral issues and have the courage and capacity to respond is harder than teaching and examining theoretical learning. The second, whether we seek to develop a ‘new’ ethical framework that fits all situations and recognises the differing traditions of global classrooms and marketplaces or we acknowledge that there are different underlying values which are hard to reconcile. The third aspect, somewhat provocatively, is whether we would be better off using novels or TV series rather than textbooks for the teaching of ethics.

1 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined three components of moral character: moral competencies, moral judgment and moral identity and sought to understand how emotion-related competencies are linked these moral categories.
Abstract: The present study examines three components of moral character: moral competencies, moral judgment and moral identity and seeks to understand how emotion-related competencies are linked these moral categories. The aim of the study is twofold, first to discover integrative linkages between different components of moral character and secondly, to understand the inclusive roles of emotion-related competencies (e.g., Trait Emotional Intelligence) in different categories of morality. A total of 318 individuals (Mage = 21.75 years; SDage = 2.24, 65% female) filled the questionnaires measuring moral judgment, moral competencies, moral identity and Trait Emotional Intelligence (TEI). Moral identity and competencies positively correlated with each other and with TEI; however, moral judgment does not appear in the same path: it related only with one aspect of TEI-emotional well-being. Also, TEI emerged as a mediator of relationship between moral identity and moral competence. By integrating three components of moral character (competence, judgment and identity) and linking them to the emotional competencies, study nuances the dynamics and power of relationship between moral and emotional realms.

1 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors measure the moral competence of Spanish Councilors and explore its relationship with different independent variables, finding that most of them have low moral competence, which does not depend on any of the variables contemplated in the study.
Abstract: The citizenship’s distrust of politicians clashes with the absence of research of politicians’ moral competence, which is a challenge to positive psychology The objective of this work, approved by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, is to measure, for the first time, the moral competence of Spanish councilors and to explore its relationship with different independent variables A sample of 625 councilors from all the territories of the country completed a questionnaire that includes the Moral Competence Test Moral Competence Test Estimation parameters and hypothesis contrast methods were used for the statistical analysis of the obtained data The results indicate that most of the Spanish councilors in the sample have low moral competence, which does not depend on any of the variables contemplated in the study Councilors with high moral competence represent only 37%, with a profile corresponding more closely to that of people under 45 years of age, with university training, professionally linked to the private services sector, and dedicated exclusively to politics in a Town Hall