Social cognitive theory of morality

About: Social cognitive theory of morality is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5842 publications have been published within this topic receiving 250337 citations.

Impeding ecological sustainability through selective moral disengagement

Abstract: The present paper documents the influential role played by selective moral disengagement for social practices that cause widespread human harm and degrade the environment. Disengagement of moral self-sanctions enables people to pursue detrimental practices freed from the restraint of self-censure. This is achieved by investing ecologically harmful practices with worthy purposes through social, national, and economic justifications; enlisting exonerative comparisons that render the practices righteous; use of sanitising and convoluting language that disguises what is being done; reducing accountability by displacement and diffusion of responsibility; ignoring, minimising, and disputing harmful effects; and dehumanising and blaming the victims and derogating the messengers of ecologically bad news. These psychosocial mechanisms operate at both the individual and social systems levels.

Children's Conceptions of Moral and Prudential Rules

Abstract: TISAK, MARIE S., and TURIEL, ELLIOT. Children's Conceptions of Moral and Prudential Rules. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 1030-1039. Children's concepts of moral and prudential rules were assessed in this study. Moral and prudential events are similar in that they may involve consequences to persons, but also differ in that morality bears upon social relations and prudence does not. The purpose of the study was to determine whether children differentiate between the social-interactional, moral aspects of harm and the nonsocial, prudential aspects of harm. 90 subjects (ages, 6, 8, and 10 years) were administered an interview about 2 moral rules (pertaining to hitting and theft) and 1 prudential rule. 3 types of assessment were obtained: criterion judgments (evaluation, authority and rule contingency, generalizability), justifications, and attributions of importance. The findings showed that most subjects regard moral and prudential rules as useful, their violation as wrong, the validity of the actions as noncontingent on rules or authority, and as generalizable; these effects were stronger for the moral than the prudential rules, with more older children distinguishing the 2 rule types. However, the reasons given in justification of moral rules focused on both consequences and the regulation of social relations, while justification for the prudential rule was based only on consequences. Moral rules were attributed more importance than the prudential rule. The pattern of findings indicates that children differentiate between consequences and regulation of social interactions.

On Moral Education

Abstract: Moral education target is the transforming medium from moral education aim to moral education practice. Its scientific rationality is the basic premise of effective moral education. Moral education target must be built on the basis that its character, contents, channels, structure and system are grasped precisely.

The moral self: A review and integration of the literature

Abstract: Summary The role of the self in moral functioning has gained considerable theoretical and empirical attention over the last 25 years. A general consensus has emerged that the self plays a vital role in individuals' moral agency. This surge of research produced a proliferation of constructs related to the moral self, each grounded in diverse theoretical perspectives. Although this work has advanced our understanding of moral thought and behavior, there has also been a lack of clarity as to the nature and functioning of the moral self. We review and synthesize empirical research related to the moral self and provide an integrative framework to increase conceptual coherence among the various relevant constructs. We then discuss emerging opportunities and future directions for research on the moral self as well as implications for behavioral ethics in organizational contexts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Toward a Model of Cross-Cultural Business Ethics: The Impact of Individualism and Collectivism on the Ethical Decision-Making Process.

Abstract: In this paper, we explore the impact of individualism and collectivism on three basic aspects of ethical decision making – the perception of moral problems, moral reasoning, and behavior. We argue that the inclusion of business practices within the moral domain by the individual depends partly upon individualism and collectivism. We also propose a pluralistic approach to post-conventional moral judgment that includes developmental paths appropriate for individualist and collectivist cultures. Finally, we argue that the link between moral judgment and behavior is related to individualism and collectivism.