scholarly journals An Asymmetric Moral Conformity Effect

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dries H. Bostyn ◽  
Arne Roets
Keyword(s):  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Choice Models ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Base Rate ◽  
Partner Choice ◽  
Majority Opinion ◽  
Conformity Effect ◽  
Trolley Dilemmas ◽  
Choice Option

The present study investigated whether and to what extent people’s judgments on trolley-type moral dilemmas are subject to conformity pressures. Trolley dilemmas contrast deontological (principled) moral concerns with consequentialist (outcome based) moral reasoning. Subjects were asked to respond to trolley dilemmas in a forced choice format and either simultaneously received bogus information about the base rate of consequentialist and deontological responding for each dilemma or received no distribution information. In the information condition, the bogus distributions showed that either the consequentialist or the deontological choice option was favored by a majority of previous participants. In a set of two independent studies, we showed that subjects exhibit little conformity to a consequentialist majority opinion but strongly conform when confronted with a deontological majority opinion. We suggest this asymmetric conformity effect demonstrates that subjects are less willing to appear consequentialist than deontological, and we explain these results through mutualistic partner choice models.

Challenges of Media Ethics Education in Lebanon in the Midst of Political and Economic Pressure

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-290
Author(s):  
Maria Bou Zeid ◽  
Jessica R. El-Khoury
Keyword(s):  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Ethics Education ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Economic Pressure ◽  
Media Ethics ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Ethics Course ◽  
Complex Boundaries

The Lebanese media sector has played a pioneering role in the Arab world due to its free and diverse system. However, the lack of professional and ethical structures in journalistic practices can be attributed to political and economic pressures. Through both a quantitative and qualitative methodology, this study contributes to the complex boundaries of the Lebanese media landscape that make the gap between media ethics education and real-world pressures in need of sustained analysis. This research aims to explore the challenges media ethics education in Lebanon faces, along with the perceptions formed by media students about journalistic practices and the application of moral reasoning in the field. In addition, the study investigates whether media ethics courses prepare students for settling moral dilemmas in the professional arena. To address the multiple factors affecting ethics education, it is significant to understand the relationship between journalists and power, democratic norms, technological change, global community, and academic critiques. Survey and focus groups results indicated that the majority of students rated moral reasoning as important for their future media professions, and that the media ethics course prepares them for professional life. On the other hand, the majority believe that the corrupt system in Lebanon makes journalists resort to unethical practices which in turn compromise journalists’ credibility and integrity. Students consider that journalists have power as the so-called fourth estate, yet that power seems minimal when journalists lack the freedom to write facts without fear from editors and/or gatekeepers’ political views, economic pressure, and on-the-job demands, placing journalistic integrity again at stake.

A Note on Ethics Educational Interventions in an Undergraduate Auditing Course: Is There an “Enron Effect”?

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine E. Earley ◽  
Patrick T. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Defining Issues Test ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
The Public ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
Accounting Scandals ◽  
Accounting Courses ◽  
Context Specific

In light of recent accounting scandals and the ensuing “crisis in confidence” facing the public accounting profession, there is a new challenge to accounting educators: how to effectively incorporate ethics into accounting courses, and increase the moral reasoning abilities of their students. Providing accounting students with the ability to reason effectively with respect to moral dilemmas may help to minimize future judgment errors in accounting and auditing settings. This article describes several different educational interventions that were adopted in an undergraduate auditing course. Students' moral reasoning was assessed both at the beginning and the end of the course to determine whether their moral reasoning scores improved based on the interventions. This was done over two semesters: one occurring in 2001 (“pre-Enron”), and one occurring in 2002 (“post-Enron”). Accounting context-specific scores were collected in both semesters (using Thorne's [2000] Accounting Ethical Dilemma Instrument [AEDI]), and general moral reasoning scores (Rest's [1979] Defining Issues Test [DIT]) were also collected in the post-Enron semester. Results indicate increases in AEDI scores, which were robust over both semesters. There was no corresponding increase in DIT scores, which is consistent with previous research; however, students' DIT scores were not significantly different than AEDI scores, which is contrary to the findings of Thorne (2001). In addition, the educational interventions appear to be equally effective in both the pre-Enron and post-Enron semesters, indicating the absence of an “Enron effect.”

When females trade grooming for grooming: testing partner control and partner choice models of cooperation in two primate species

2011 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 1223-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Fruteau ◽  
Sylvain Lemoine ◽  
Eléonore Hellard ◽  
Eric van Damme ◽  
Ronald Noë
Keyword(s):  
Choice Models ◽  
Partner Choice ◽  
Primate Species

Age, Education, and Sex Effects on Adult Moral Reasoning

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles B. White
Keyword(s):  
Moral Development ◽  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Scoring System ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Stage Theory ◽  
Sex Effects ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Effect Of Age

The role of age and education in adult moral reasoning was examined utilizing Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental stage theory of moral development and the most recent Standard Scoring System for assessing moral judgments. Individual interviews utilizing standard Kohlberg moral dilemmas were conducted with 195 adults ranging in age from nineteen to eighty-two years and in years of education from three to twenty-five years. Results indicated no overall significant effect for age of reasoner, no significant effect for sex, and a significant effect for education ( p < .01). However, the effect of age was significant in the group with eighteen or more years of education, but not in the group with less than eighteen years of education.

Long-Term Cultural Change in Cognitive Development

1972 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Tomlinson-Keasey ◽  
Charles Blake Keasey
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Sixth Graders ◽  
Second Graders ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Cultural Events

It was hypothesized that animistic thinking and thinking about specific moral dilemmas have been affected by cultural events in the last few decades. Animistic thinking was examined in second graders ( n = 73) and was found to have declined markedly since 1929. In fifth and sixth graders ( n = 144) moral reasoning about slavery was at a significantly higher level than moral reasoning on six other dilemmas. Cognitive progress thus seems to be positively affected by cultural changes which are long-term and which allow the child time to consolidate the information and experience provided.

scholarly journals Burning Witches: The Moral Dilemmas of Ashaninka Leaders

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Guillermo Enrique Delgado ◽  
Susana Frisancho
Keyword(s):  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Moral Education ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Social Mechanisms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Scant Attention

This paper focuses on the moral reasoning of Ashaninka leaders about the burning of witches, a cultural practice that has received scant attention from intercultural scholars. We first contextualize burning witches as a cultural practice of the Ashaninka people. Then, based on qualitative interviews, we present the experience of six Ashaninka leaders with witchcraft and witchcraft accusations, as well as their moral reasoning about the social mechanisms that the Ashaninka people have traditionally used to control evil sorcery. The participants are three men and three women from the Ucayali and Junín regions in Peru’s Amazon basin. Finally, we discuss intercultural moral education and the need to analyze the reasons behind cultural practices in order to understand the rationality and reasonableness of others.

scholarly journals Adolescent Concepts of Responsibility in Different Types of Moral Dilemmas

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Molchanov ◽  
O.V. Almazova
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Main Character ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Relationship

The paper presents results of an empirical study of adolescents' concepts of responsibility in different types of moral dilemmas characterized by violations of moral norms. The study proved that the type of moral dilemma and the context of interaction of its participants determine the adolescents' readiness to recognize the responsibility of the main character of the dilemma for violating the norm. In dilemmas of asocial type adolescents are more willing to recognize the responsibility of the offender whose behavior leads to obvious damage for one of the participants in the interaction. As for prosocial dilemmas and dilemmas of confronting norms, adolescents tend to deny the responsibility of the offender. The paper provides a comparative analysis of empirically identified types of adolescent concepts of responsibility, including the differentiated responsibility with egoistic orientation, high responsibility, low responsibility and ‘polar’ responsibility. The authors highlight the ambiguity of the relationship between adolescents’ evaluation of behavior, their readiness to recognize responsibility in moral transgression, and their judgment about the necessity of punishment. The paper concludes with the discussion concerning the relationship between the level of development of moral judgments/moral reasoning and the concepts of responsibility in adolescents.

scholarly journals Self-rated Attractiveness and Sociosexual Behavior Predict Gay Men’s Preferences for Masculine Cues in Male Voices in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 147470491984743
Author(s):  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Lijun Zheng ◽  
Yong Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Sexual Relationships ◽  
Partner Choice ◽  
Sociosexual Behavior ◽  
Choice Method ◽  
Perceived Attractiveness

Theory and some evidence suggest that masculine characteristics (e.g., lower pitched voice) will predict indices of men’s long-term health. In a related finding, researchers have demonstrated that the attractiveness of individuals predicts variation in their mate preferences. As self-perceived attractiveness may predict sociosexuality (i.e., the willingness of individuals to engage in restricted or unrestricted sexual relationships), we investigated how self-rated attractiveness and sociosexuality influence preferences regarding male voices among 338 gay men across different cities in China. Each participant was randomly presented with six pairs of male voices and gave preferences using a forced-choice method; each pair of male voices consisted of a masculine (lower pitched) and feminine (higher pitched) version of the same original voice. Our findings suggested that gay men who perceived themselves as more attractive showed stronger preference for lower pitched voices compared with self-perceived less attractive individuals. In addition, we found that gay men’s sociosexuality score was positively correlated with their preference for masculine cues in male voices, indicating that gay men who were less sociosexually restricted preferred lower pitched voices over higher pitched versions compared with men who were more restricted. Our study presents evidence contributing to a better understanding of condition-dependent strategies of partner choice in gay men.

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