A Psychological Approach

to Ethics

Moral psychology
Moral psychologyis a field of study in bothphilosophyand
psychology. Some of the main topics of the field are moral
judgment,moral reasoning, moral sensitivity,
moral responsibility, moral motivation, moral identity, moral
action,moral development,moral diversity,moral character
(especially as related tovirtue ethics),altruism,
psychological egoism,moral luck, moral forecasting, moral
emotion, affective forecasting, and moral disagreement.

Moral reasoning
Moral reasoning can be defined as being the process in which an individual tries to
determine the difference between what is right and what is wrong in a personal situation by
using logic.This is an important and often daily process that people use in an attempt to do
the right thing. Every day for instance, people are faced with the dilemma of whether or
not to lie in a given situation. People make this decision by reasoning the morality of the
action and weighing that against its consequences.

Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility does not necessarily equate to
legal responsibility. A person is legally responsible for an
event when a legal system is liable to penalise that
person for that event. Although it may often be the case
that when a person is morally responsible for an act, they
are also legally responsible for it, the two states do not
always coincide

Moral identity

An individual has moral identity in such a way that

he or she has constructed in his or her sense of self
around moral concerns. When morality is important
to an individual, it heightens the responsibility to
live a consistently moral life. Hardy and Carlo (2005)
raise critical questions for future research on moral
identity as it relates to moral behavior. Is there a
causal relationship between moral action and moral
identity? What sort of factors influence development
of moral identity? Are there moderating variables

Moral development
Moral developmentfocuses on the emergence, change, and
understanding ofmoralityfrom infancy through adulthood. In the field of
moral development, morality is defined as principles for how individuals
ought to treat one another, with respect tojustice, others welfare, and
rights.

Moral character
Moral characterorcharacteris an evaluation of a particular individual's
stablemoralqualities. The concept ofcharactercan imply a variety of
attributes including the existence or lack ofvirtuessuch asempathy,
courage,fortitude,honesty, andloyalty, or of good behaviors orhabits.

Altruism
Altruismorselflessnessis the principle or practice of concern for the
welfareof others. It is a traditionalvirtuein many cultures and a core
aspect of various religious traditions and secular worldviews, though the
concept of "others" toward whom concern should be directed can vary
among cultures and religions.

Psychological egoism
Psychological egoismis the view that humans are always motivated by
self-interest, even in what seem to be acts ofaltruism. It claims that, when
people choose to help others, they do so ultimately because of the
personal benefits that they themselves expect to obtain, directly or
indirectly, from doing so.

Moral willpower
Metcalfe and Mischel offered a new theory of willpower that focused on the
delay of gratification paradigm. They propose a hot/cool structure of analysis to
deprive the way one controls the way stimulus is interpreted and willpower is
exerted. The hot system is referred to as the "go" system whereas the cool
system is referred to as the "know" system. The hot system is characterized as
being highly emotional, reflexive, and impulsive. The Cool System is
characterized as being cognitive, emotionally neutral/flexible, slow, integrated,
contemplative, and strategic.

Moral values
Kristiansen and Hottereview many research articles regarding people's values and attitudes and
whether they guide behavior. With the research they reviewed and their own extension of Ajzen
and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action, they conclude that value-attitude-behavior depends
on the individual and their moral reasoning. They also pointed out that there are such things as
good values and bad values. Good values are those that guide our attitudes and behaviors and
allow us to express and define ourselves. It also involves the ability to know when values are
appropriate in response to the situation or person that you are dealing with. Bad values on the
other hand are those that are relied on so much that it makes you unresponsive to the needs
and perspectives of others.

Moral virtues
Morality as virtues suggests that the morality of a person
depends on the traits and temperaments that he or she
possesses and values.

Moral emotions
Moral emotions are emotions that are linked to the interests
or welfare either of society as a whole or at least of persons
other than the judge or agent.

Moral behavior
James Rest (1983; Narvaez & Rest, 1995) reviewed the literature
on moral functioning and identified at least four components or
processes that must go right for a moral behavior to take place.
Moral sensitivity is noticing and interpreting what's happening;
Moral reasoning about what to do and making a judgment
about what is the best (most moral) option;
Moral motivation (in the moment but also habitually, such as
moral identity);
Moral implementationhaving the skills and perseverance to
carry out the action.

Moral awareness & moral

judgment
You need to become aware of the ethical elements of a
decision before you can make ethical decisions.
People consider the ethical nature of decisions if:
their peers consider the decisions to have an ethical

component.
moral language rather than neutral language is used to
describe the decision (forge instead of sign).

Cognitive moral
development
Kohlberg proposed that people move sequentially through three

broad levels of moral development, each of which is sub-classified

into 2 stages.
This is a normative perspective, arguing that people ought to
operate at as high a level as possible.
Read through & understand the model!
Note that most people operate at level 3 or 4, and that level 6 is
rarely experienced.

What do you see?

Script processing

Cognitive barriers to good ethical judgment

Script processing
Behaviors become scripted (routinized), so theyre executed without thinking.
A way of seeing is a way of not seeing. (Gareth Morgan, Images of
Organization)
This is part of what happened at Waco (the FBI scripted the siege as a hostagetaking, and acted accordingly).
Simplifying consequences
Reduce the number of considered outcomes, eliminating potentially disastrous
ones accidentally.
May over-discount unlikely outcomes (anchoring problems).
Escalation of commitment
We refuse to think of sunk costs as truly sunk, but want to recover our
investment. Just another $10 M will make this work!
We dont want to be seen as quitters or losers.

Passions within Reason:

the strategic role of the emotions
The basic premise of is that there are circumstances

within which it is rational to act emotionally.

People act in a manner that appears irrational, and they
know it.
Argument: specific emotions act as commitment devices
that help resolve (economic and social interaction)
dilemmas.

Philosophical Approach
to ethics

Philosophy and Ethics

Is lying always wrong?
Is conscience a reliable guide?
Are all values relative?

The Ethical Continuum

Utilitarianism

Egoism

Situationism

Rational Choice
Objectivism

Cultural Relativism
Subjectivism

Relativism

Absolutism

QUESTIONS IN ETHICS

QUESTIONS OF FACT:
'IS'

TRUTH AND
FALSEHOOD

QUESTIONS OF VALUE:
'OUGHT'

WORTH, GOOD,
DESIRABILITY

DUTIES OR
OBLIGATIONS

ONE FIRST HURDLE IN OVERCOMING ETHICAL DILEMMAS IS TO

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FACT AND VALUE.
'I AM ALIVE' IS A FACT.

'I OUGHT TO LIVE' IS A VALUE.

Subjectivism
All values are relative.
Existentialist Perspective
I make my own good; no one can judge.
Language Theory
Moral terms are personal, individual.
My logic determines my truth, and its mine.
My statements can be tested as true or false.
Most value statements are nonsense, because they are value-based.
Therefore we cannot argue them.
But how do we resolve differences?

Cultural Relativism
Whatever a culture believes is
good is good.
Social authority determines good.

There are few or no values that

are universal.

But what if a cultural belief is based

upon a falsehood?
What if my value is not good for me?
How do we then make laws?
Are we to tolerate sadistic evil and
genocide because it is a cultural value
somewhere?

Egoism
Psychological Egoism (Epicurus)
All acts are motivated by self-interest.
It is human nature to seek selfinterest.
It is impossible to be unselfish.

Ethical Egoism (Ayn Rand)

Each person ought to act in his own
self-interest.

Enlightened Egoism (Hobbes)

Do both of the above, but without
narcissism.
Are there no selfless acts?

Objectivism
Values exist outside of human reality.
Absolute values are morally binding to all
humans.
Divine Command Theory
We ought to follow self-evident truths
Natural Law
It is our duty to act on rational,
categorical imperatives.
The Forms of the Good (Plato)
Beauty, Truth, Justice

Utilitarianism
What is good is what produces the greatest happiness for
the greatest number of people.
The balance of pleasure and pain must be weighed
against alternatives to action
All value claims must stand the test of
consequences.
But what if the good of the mass obligates us to
harm the individual?

Possible Combinations
Rational Choice
A rational person can choose right living if she
is free, impartial and informed.
People in this state will naturally have right
views and intentions.
People in this state will choose right
speech, actions, and livelihoods.
People in this state will conduct
themselves with right effort, mindfulness,
and concentration.

Virtue Ethics
What are the traits of a good person?
How are these traits cultivated?
What are the moral categories that define the
good person?
What virtues will allow me to function as a good
human being?

Feminist Ethics
Do women operate uniquely from the domain of
morality of responsibility?
Psychological logic of relationships?
Caring
Do men operate uniquely from the domain of
morality of rights?
Formal logic of justice.
Can there be an ethic for both?

Social Approach to Ethics

Social psychology(or thesocial

approach) is interested in
studying individuals in
asocialcontext, such as family,
friends, institutions, and wider
society.Social behaviour may
involve activity within a group or
between groups.

Ethics and Social

Responsibility
Social responsibility is an ethical theory, in which individuals are accountable for
fulfilling their civic duty; the actions of an individual must benefit the whole of
society. In this way, there must be a balance between economic growth and the
welfare of society and the environment. If this equilibrium is maintained, then
social responsibility is accomplished.

What it Means to be Socially Responsible and

Ethical?
The theory of social responsibility is built on a system of ethics, in
which decisions and actions must be ethically validated before
proceeding. If the action or decision causes harm to society or the
environment then it would be considered to be socially
irresponsible.
Moral values that are inherent in society create a distinction
between right and wrong. In this way, social fairness is believed
(by most) to be in the right, but more frequently than not this
fairness is absent. Every individual has a responsibility to act in
manner that is beneficial to society and not solely to the
individual.

Stages of Moral Thought

(Kohlberg)
Child

defines right and wrong in

terms of what authorities say
Adolescent defines right and wrong
in terms of group loyalty (friends,
family, gang, nation)
Adult views right and wrong from
universal standards of justice, human
rights, and human welfare
Education is what stimulates growth through levels.

Three Domains of Human Action

Domain of Certified Law

Domain of Ethics

Domain of Free Choice

(Legal Standard)

(Social Standard)

(Personal Standard)

Amount of
Explicit Control
High

Low

Ethical Dilemma
A situation that arises when all alternative choices or
behaviors have been deemed undesirable because...
potentially of negative ethical consequences, making
it difficult to distinguish right from wrong

Criteria For
Ethical Decision Making
Most ethical dilemmas involve
Conflict between needs of the part & whole
- Individual versus the organization
- Organization versus society as a whole
Managers use normative strategies to guide
their decision making - norms and values

Ethical Decision Making

40

Utilitarian Approach

Moral behavior produces the greatest good for

the greatest number

Critics fear a Big Brother approach and ask if

the common good is squeezing the life out of
the individual

Example Oregons decision to extend

Medicaid to 400,000 previously ineligible
recipients by refusing to pay for high-cost,
high-risk procedures

Individualism
Approach
Acts are moral when they promote the
individual's best long-term interests, which
ultimately leads to the greater good

Individual self-direction paramount

Individualism is believed to lead to honesty &
integrity since that works best in the long run

Examples: Top executives from WorldCom,

Enron, Tyco demonstrate flaws of approach

Moral-Rights
Approach
Moral decisions are those that best
maintain the rights of those people affected
by them.

An ethical decision is one that avoids

interfering with the fundamental rights of
others

Six Moral Rights

1.
1. The
The right
right of
of free
free consent
consent
2.
2. The
The right
right to
to privacy
privacy
3.
3. The
The right
right of
of freedom
freedom of
of
conscience
conscience
4. The right of free speech
5.
5. The
The right
right to
to due
due process
process
6.
6. The
The right
right to
to life
life &
& safety
safety

Justice Approach
Moral Decisions must be based on standards
of equity, fairness, impartiality