Moral Competence Research Articles

Moral character and competence judgments of sexual harassers and fraudsters in academic and business contexts.

Fraud and sexual harassment have been haunting academia for years. While the scientific community proposed strategies to overcome misconduct in research, the problem of sexual harassment seems unresolved. One reason for this might be a difference between men and women in the perception of the moral character and competence of sexual harassers. Across four studies (N = 3776), in the UK and the US, men judged the sexual harasser as less immoral than women (Studies 1, 2, and 3a), even though sexual harassment was considered more harmful than fraud (Study 2). Consequently, men demanded less punishment for sexual harassers than women (Studies 1 and 2). This gender difference was not explained by moral rationalization (Study 3a). Further, a sexual harasser was judged as more competent than a fraudster but in an academic, not business, context (Studies 1 and 2). This effect was driven by the moral decoupling process, which participants used to separate competence judgments from moral judgments (Study 3b). Overall, these results suggest that in the academic context, gender interests most likely shape moral and punishment judgments towards sexual harassers, while the decoupling process allows both genders to perceive them as competent and immoral at the same time.

Moral Intelligence and Academic Performance of Secondary School Students

This study investigated the relationship between moral intelligence and academic performance among secondary school students. The sample consisted of 123 respondents from grades 9-12 in a private international school in Indonesia. The study followed a descriptive-correlational research design. Descriptive statistics showed that the respondents had a moderate level of moral competency. Pearson’s product-moment correlation analysis revealed a weak but statistically significant positive relationship between moral intelligence and academic performance. Simple linear regression analysis indicated that moral intelligence significantly predicted academic achievement among high school students. An independent samples t-test revealed a significant difference in moral intelligence between the genders, with female students having higher moral competency than male students. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant difference in moral intelligence across grade levels but no significant difference across religious affiliation. Implications of the findings and recommendations for further research were stated.

Developing Character Education with 4C Skills in Muhammadiyah Schools

The intracurricular learning process tends to lack high character values, especially Al-Islam and Muhammadiyah characters at Muhammadiyah Elementary Schools. Students only focus on the learning process with knowledge output. Attitudes and skills are often forgotten in the teaching and learning process. Students have not yet installed the 4C skills (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity). This research is to develop a character education model in the intracurricular learning process, namely the Al-Islam and Muhammadiyah character education model for Muhammadiyah elementary school students. The AIK character education model will be developed with 4C skills (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity) as the latest outcome that 4C skills are able to help and develop students' AIK character in thinking creatively and facing problems. It is hoped that the AIK character model based on 4C skills will be able to score AIK character scores with 4C skills in the intracurricular learning process at Muhammadiyah elementary schools. Highlights: Integrating 4C skills into character education at Muhammadiyah schools. Developing moral values and competencies in students through the Al-Islam model. The model’s effectiveness proven by expert validation and student outcomes. Keywords: Character Building, 4C Competency, Al Islam Muhammadiyyah

Academic Dishonesty from the Perspective of Primary School Teachers

Abstract Introduction: Academic dishonesty is addressed by various experts in pedagogy and psychology who seek to preserve academic integrity in accordance with the moral and ethical principles of contemporary society. Methods: The intention of the research was to find out how teachers evaluate different types of cheating by students during class, how they react to different types of academic dishonesty, and how they themselves were dishonest during their time in college. Teachers (N=272, mean age 40.85 years) responded on a 5-point Likert scale the attitudes towards morality, but also whether students cheated or self-reported their academic dishonesty when they were students. Results: Factor analysis indicated the existence of 4 factors of teachers’ moral beliefs (Trust in implicit morality, Teacher-given morality, Need for explicit rules, and Internalization of moral principles), which were correlated with students’ assessment of academic dishonesty (Use of external resources, Cooperation) and with teachers’ self-reported academic dishonesty (Utilitarianism, Unauthorized advantage, and Helping others). Discussion: The research findings suggest that teachers should focus more on understanding their pupils’ behaviour rather than condemning or punishing academic dishonesty and seek to develop their moral competence. Limitations: The research sample size is not representative, also the research method is not standardized. Conclusions: The role of teachers is to apply teaching strategies that will promote honest and responsible student behaviour.

Are older adults perceived as morally better than middle-aged persons? Focus on the stereotype content model

Identifying and improving existing morality perceptions regarding older adults is crucial for fostering intergenerational cooperation and constructing an inclusive society. In this study, we conducted two online experiments with Japanese participants to investigate the degrees to which older adults are perceived as moral. We predicted that older adults are more likely to be perceived as morally good compared to middle-aged individuals (Hypothesis 1), and that regardless of the target person's age, individuals perceived as warm (Hypothesis 2) and competent (Hypothesis 3) are more likely to be regarded as morally good. In Study 1, participants were instructed to freely describe a typical older (aged 80 years) or middle-aged (aged 50 years) target individual. Contrary to expectations, the middle-aged target individual was perceived as morally better than the older counterpart. Meanwhile, regardless of the target individual's age, the target individuals perceived as warm and competent were more likely to be viewed as morally good. In Study 2, participants were presented with a simple vignette describing an older (aged 80 years) or middle-aged (aged 50 years) target individual, manipulating their warmth (warm/cold) and competence (competent/incompetent). The results indicated no effect of target age on moral perceptions, but warmer and/or more competent target individuals elicited higher moral perceptions. Thus, Hypothesis 1 was not supported in either study, whereas Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported across both studies. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing moral perceptions, warmth, and competence regarding older adults to facilitate appropriate assistance from other generations.

Designing a Human Resource Empowerment Model for Pharmacists in Pharmacies in Tehran

Background: One of the most effective strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the current business environment is to enhance the efficiency of employees within organizations. The purpose of this research was to design a human resource empowerment model for pharmacists in pharmacies in Tehran. Methods: The research's statistical population includes two qualitative and quantitative components. In the qualitative part, 35 elite pharmacists from universities, industry, and the Ministry of Health were included, while the quantitative part involved a statistical sample of 220 individuals. For data analysis, the Grandad process of Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical tests, independent one-sample t-test, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used. SPSS 25 and AMOS 24 software were used to analyze the research data Results: The findings showed that in the final development model of empowering pharmacists and personnel in Tehran courts, causal factors include psychological characteristics and training. The core category includes cultural and moral competence, as well as professional and technical competence. Background factors include commitment and skill. Intervening factors include moral values. Strategies include efficiency and speed. The consequences include creativity, innovation, and social responsibility.Results: The findings showed that in the final development model of empowering pharmacists and personnel in Tehran courts, causal factors include psychological characteristics and training. The core category includes cultural and moral competence, as well as professional and technical competence. Background factors include commitment and skill. Intervening factors include moral values. Strategies include efficiency and speed. The consequences include creativity, innovation, and social responsibility. Conclusion: It can be concluded that continuous training workshops should be organized for pharmacists in Tehran pharmacies to enhance their specialized knowledge. Periodic in-service courses should be provided to these individuals based on their professional activities. The organization should consider social activities and social behaviors as focal points.

Impact of goal orientation on moral competence development in youth

The study had two aims. The first was to investigate correlation between specific types of goal orientation as a predictor of prosocial and antisocial functioning and level of moral competences. The second, was to verify whether goal orientation has an impact on the development of moral competences of students participating in a pedagogical intervention based on non-linear pedagogy. Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire and Moral Competence Test were used to assess 468 secondary school students aged 15 in goal orientation and moral competences level. There was no correlation between the level of task and ego orientation and the level of moral competence. Under the influence of pedagogical experiment students with high level of task orientation achieved a statistically significantly higher change in the level of moral competences (η2 = 0.04). Study suggests that high level of task orientation is more susceptible to the development of moral competencies. Also, employing a non-linear pedagogy model in physical education, provides a conducive environment for the development of moral competences and should be implemented in the training of future physical education teachers.

Ethical sensitivity and compassion competence in nursing students: Two-center study/comparison of two different cultures

BackgroundAlthough the literature includes studies on nursing students' ethical sensitivity and compassion competence, no study has examined and compared these skills among nursing students from different cultures. AimThis research determined and compared the ethical sensitivity and compassion competency levels of nursing students in two different geographies, one in Turkey (Group I) and one in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (Group II), which hosts students with different cultural characteristics. DesignQuantitative and cross-sectional research. MethodThe research was conducted with 201 nursing students in Group I and Group II, who were studying in the English Nursing program at the Nursing Faculties, received clinical practice training, took ethics in nursing courses, and agreed to participate. “Sociodemographic Form,” “Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire,” and “Compassion Competence Scale” were used to collect data. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation analysis were used to evaluate the data. ResultsThe mean “Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire” scores of nursing students in Group I and Group II are 149.52 (SD 21.13) and 155.63 (SD 25.21), respectively. The mean scores of the nursing students in Group I and Group II on the “Compassion Competence Scale” are 3.88 (SD 0.47) and 4.29 (SD 0.50), respectively. It was determined that the “Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire” and “Compassion Competency Scale” mean scores of the nursing students in Group II were higher than those of the nursing students in Group I, and this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). ConclusionThe moral sensitivity and compassion competence of nursing students at the two universities were high. When the scores of the groups were compared, it was observed that the moral sensitivity and compassion competence levels of the nursing students in Group II were statistically significantly higher than those of the nursing students in Group I. The predictors of this were evaluated as to why students chose the nursing department, the country, and the department they liked.

Pelakasanaan Kurikulum Dalam Meningkatkan Penetapan Tujuan Pendidikan di Madrasah

This study examines the implementation of the curriculum at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 3 Karawang and its impact on achieving educational goals, encompassing the spiritual, academic, and social aspects of students. Against the backdrop of the need to preserve Islamic values amidst the dynamics of changing times, this research aims to analyze the extent to which the implemented curriculum can support the madrasah’s vision and mission in shaping students with noble character. The methodology used is descriptive qualitative, with data collection through documentation and observation. The findings indicate that the curriculum implementation at MAN 3 Karawang has successfully integrated Islamic values into the learning process and student activities, as evidenced by the improvement in their spiritual and moral competencies. The implications of these findings highlight the need for continuous curriculum adjustments to maintain relevance with modern educational needs without neglecting the foundational Islamic values. This research contributes to the development of educational strategies in madrasahs to face contemporary challenges and enhance the quality of Islamic education.

Benevolence (ren) and family piety (xiao): Analysis based on the Confucian doctrine of ren wei tian sheng (humans are born of tian)

ABSTRACT For Confucianism nowadays, the characteristics and relationship between benevolence and filial piety are crucial topics. This paper is a discussion of the relationship between benevolence and filial piety in Confucianism from a new doctrine, i.e. the doctrine of ren wei tian sheng 人为天生 (humans are born of tian). Confucianists believed that man’s existence as a human was derived from tian. This was extended to mean that, in contrast to being born into a family, part of being ‘human’ was also given by tian. The two virtues are applicable to different occasions, and require different moral competencies. Based on these premises, Confucianism conceived of an ideal order. Confucianism holds that junzi (gentlemen) involved in politics must fulfil the virtues of benevolence, justice, loyalty and trustworthiness, while xiaoren (ordinary people) are only expected to do their filial duty within the family.

Investigating academic dishonesty and its relationship with moral competence and professional identity of nursing students: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundAcademic dishonesty as a fundamental challenge in adherence of ethical principles in providing care to patients has caused concern to the scientific community of nurses. In addition, positive professional identity and high moral competence are important for nurses to perform multiple care roles in high quality care of patients. The purpose of the present study is of investigating academic dishonesty and its relationship with moral competence and professional identity of master’s and PhD nursing students.MethodsThis descriptive-analytical study was conducted by census method on 65 master’s and PhD nursing students in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran in 2023. Data collection tools included 4 questionnaires (Demographic information, Academic Dishonesty Scale (DAS), Nurses’ moral competence and Professional Identity Scale for Nursing Students (PISNS)). Data collection was done within 2 months. Descriptive and inferential analyzes including independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression were used to analyze the data. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS.V.22 software. P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.ResultsThe average age of 65 participants was 31.5 ± 5.61 years. The majority of the participants in this study were women 48 (73.8%). There is a significant and negative correlation between academic dishonesty and moral competence (r=-0.260, P-value = 0.036). There is no significant correlation between academic dishonesty and professional identity (r = 0.154, P-value = 0.22). Also, a significant positive correlation was found between moral competence and professional identity (r = 0.294, P-value = 0.018).ConclusionTherefore, considering that the fact that students have a great impact on patient care, Researchers suggest that educational institutions should prevent the increase of academic dishonesty among students by establishing new rules and regulations.

Social brokers in grassroots governance: The new rural gentry in China

One important and interesting aspect of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to revitalize the Chinese countryside in recent years has been the attempt to make use of prominent local people – known as xinxiangxian (新乡贤, meaning ‘new rural meritorious people’). As social brokers, xinxiangxian differ from other agents. The attributes of this new class have yet to be regularized through central government statute, which means that the CCP’s position on the xinxiangxian is still under discussion. From the example of A county, we conclude that xinxiangxian use their abundance of bridging social capital to fulfil two important political functions: lobbying their communities in favour of government policies to strengthen grassroots ruling and serving as local government supervisors to monitor village committee affairs. Compared with other brokers included into the CCP regime, xinxiangxian, as their name suggests, are renowned for their moral values and competencies, allowing them to make a significant contribution to the CCP’s governance of Chinese society.

Assessing and Enhancing Core Competencies in Vocational Education: A Case Study of Senior Students at Guangxi Police College, China

This study evaluates the core competencies of senior students at Guangxi Police College within the framework of higher vocational education and provides guidelines for enhancing these skills. A Likert 5-Point Scale questionnaire based on Lin Chongde’s 2017 framework assessed these competencies among 155 students. A statistical study of the data, concentrating on mean values and standard deviations, indicated variable levels of competence across six dimensions: moral awareness, social responsibility, cultural comprehension, critical thinking, language competency, and aesthetic appreciation. They demonstrated high levels of ethical awareness, social responsibility, cultural understanding, critical thinking, and aesthetic appreciation, while language abilities were graded as medium, indicating a need for targeted improvement. Recommendations include incorporating interactive language activities and industry-specific training, targeting critical thinking through case studies and debate clubs, broadening cultural understanding through international exposure, cultivating aesthetic appreciation through art classes, and increasing social responsibility through community service and internships. Integrating ethics education across all disciplines and practical ethical dilemma workshops were suggested to promote moral awareness. This study presents a complete examination of basic abilities in a vocational environment and offers actionable suggestions for educational improvement. This paper addresses the critical gap in creating vocational training programs for police officers. It focuses on police students' vocational education and provides a detailed assessment of fundamental abilities adapted for law enforcement training. The study findings give an insightful overview of the viable future revisions in vocational programs that match the educational requirements and practical demands of the police profession.

Blame as participant anger: extending moral claimant competence to young children and nonhuman animals

ABSTRACT Following the social conception of moral agency, this paper claims that many agents commonly exempted from moral responsibility, like young children, adults with late-stage dementia, and nonhuman animals, may nevertheless qualify as participants in moral responsibility practices. Blame and other moral responsibility responses are understood according to the communicative emotion account of the reactive attitudes. To blame someone means having an emotion episode that acts as a vehicle for conveying a particular moral content. Therefore, moral agency is argued to be manifested in communicative exchanges between a claimant and a defendant. While many human and nonhuman agents are justifiably exempted from ascriptions of moral responsibility, this does not necessarily exclude such agents from the community of moral agents altogether. Toddlers and dogs, for instance, seem capable of other-directed reactive attitudes, like resentment, and could, therefore, qualify as participants in moral responsibility practices with respect to the claimant position. Therefore, we may have reason to adopt a distinct claimant-directed participant stance to some beings, even if they fail to qualify as apt targets of blame. This expanded theoretical room for moral agency is argued to make explicit further normative considerations.

Religiosity and moral judgment: Moderating role of moral internalization and moral competence

Religious beliefs strongly influence moral judgment, moral values, and priorities. In this article, we analyze the nature and genesis of utilitarian versus deontological moral judgment, the role of religiosity in human morality, and finally, we present empirical findings on the interrelationship between moral judgment, moral identity, moral competence, and religiosity. In a cross-sectional study, 318 individuals (65% female) completed self-report psychometric scales, including Moral judgment scenarios, Moral Competency Index (MCI), and the Self-Importance of Moral identity (SIMI) scale. The study results show that religiosity has a predictive power for deontological moral judgment. Furthermore, bootstrapping analysis confirmed that moral competence and moral identity moderate the relationship between religiosity and deontological moral judgment. The result fits in the deontological coherence framework, evidencing that the association between consequential/deontological moral judgment and religiosity is not rigid and predetermined, but changes on a different level of moral competency and moral internalization. The study results are important to understand the contextual variables and complementary mechanisms that affect the relationship between morality and religiosity.

The Basel model of principle-oriented clinical ethics consultation 2.0 : An introduction for psychiatry

The effectiveness of clinical ethics counselling in medicine in terms of satisfaction of the participants, support of ethical decision-making, perceived impact on clinical care, moral competence and quality of communication is now empirically well validated. In psychiatry, more and more institutions have structures for clinical ethics consultation as well; however, there is still alack of evaluative accompanying research on the benefits and differential indications of the various forms and models of clinical ethics counselling in psychiatry. The article presents the principles and the step by step application of the principle-oriented clinical ethics consultation according to the Basel model2.0. The article is based on material and procedures developed at the Clinical Ethics Unit of the University Hospital Basel and the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel for the principle-oriented clinical ethics consultation according to the Basel model2.0. Principle-oriented clinical ethics consultation according to the Basel model2.0 is suitable for dealing with moral issues and conflicts in psychiatric practice and for their ethical reflection; however, further evaluative accompanying research is needed on the benefits and differential indications of this and other models of clinical ethics support in psychiatry.

Narrative gaslighting

ABSTRACT Self-narration, many philosophers assume, makes important contributions to our mental lives. Two views on self-narration can be distinguished. On the internalistic view, self-narration unfolds in the secluded mind and does not require overt communication. On the situated view, self-narration often depends on the conversational interaction with an interlocutor. The situated view has many advantages over its internalistic rival, including theoretical consistency and empirical plausibility. Yet, research on situated conversational self-narration has been shaped by a harmony bias, which consists in the tacit assumption that interlocutors contribute to self-narration in ways that are beneficial and supportive, rather than malicious and harmful. This paper seeks to mitigate the harmony bias by considering the phenomenon of gaslighting, which is characterized by an interlocutor’s erosion of someone’s sense of epistemic and moral competence. In cases of narrative gaslighting, this erosion proceeds by maliciously interfering with the self-narrator’s mnemonic, interpretational, and conceptual abilities. Bringing together research on situated self-narration and gaslighting for the first time, it will be argued that the emerging account of narrative gaslighting has important implications for both.

Evaluating ChatGPT's moral competence in health care-related ethical problems.

Artificial intelligence tools such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) have been used for many health care-related applications; however, there is a lack of research on their capabilities for evaluating morally and/or ethically complex medical decisions. The objective of this study was to assess the moral competence of ChatGPT. This cross-sectional study was performed between May 2023 and July 2023 using scenarios from the Moral Competence Test (MCT). Numerical responses were collected from ChatGPT 3.5 and 4.0 to assess individual and overall stage scores, including C-index and overall moral stage preference. Descriptive analysis and 2-sided Student's t-test were used for all continuous data. A total of 100 iterations of the MCT were performed and moral preference was found to be higher in the latter Kohlberg-derived arguments. ChatGPT 4.0 was found to have a higher overall moral stage preference (2.325 versus 1.755) when compared to ChatGPT 3.5. ChatGPT 4.0 was also found to have a statistically higher C-index score in comparison to ChatGPT 3.5 (29.03 ± 11.10 versus 19.32 ± 10.95, P =.0000275). ChatGPT 3.5 and 4.0 trended towards higher moral preference for the latter stages of Kohlberg's theory for both dilemmas with C-indices suggesting medium moral competence. However, both models showed moderate variation in C-index scores indicating inconsistency and further training is recommended. ChatGPT demonstrates medium moral competence and can evaluate arguments based on Kohlberg's theory of moral development. These findings suggest that future revisions of ChatGPT and other large language models could assist physicians in the decision-making process when encountering complex ethical scenarios.

Character Education in Korean Military

Purpose: This article is intended as a suggestion for the direction that the military character education system should pursue, which is suitable for changing the values of the young generation to the essential values of the military while respecting democratic values. The existing understanding and approaches to the military character education, which has been limited to solving the problems related to interpersonal relationships and military service adaptation within the group he or she belongs, must now be converted into a consistent system that meets the original purpose of military. The new military culture must respect the individuality of its members while integrating individual capabilities into the goals of the military organization. The changes of military culture should begin with changes in the aim and the methods of character education implemented in the military. Method: In that the concept of a soldier's character itself implies intersubjective universality, we would like to examine this article through Weber's ideal type (Idealtypus), which is a social scientific research methodology concepts, a standard concept established based on intrinsic values and universal standards to recognize the diverse and fluid social and cultural phenomena. Taking some into account the Weber’s assertion, the objective validity of all empirical knowledge is based solely on the fact that a given reality is in a certain sense ordered by subjective categories, this study will be conducted by a qualitative approach with literature analysis and materials review. Ideals are subjectivity, but the causality of those Ideals can be objective. Objectivity is the “intersubjective universality,” which refers to whether one's logical process can be valid or not. Objectivity can only be achieved when a value-neutral attitude is maintained, which Weber calls “value freedom (Werfreiheit).” Results: Despite the fact that the mental attitude based on an individual' value system and the externally manifested behavior are not independent of each other, there has been little interest in the relationship between the character of an individual soldier and his will to fight, to the extent that character and mental power are treated separately in military character education. In order to build a soldier's character with mental combat capabilities, the reason and purpose of the military's existence, or the functional characteristics and attributes of the military, must be reflected in military character education. The fact that, while the behavior pursued by a military organization should be purpose-rational, the desirable behavior required of individual soldiers who are members of the military organization is value-rational behavior must be taken into consideration when constructing a character education system. Conclusion: If the purpose of military character education is presented in line with the legitimate and essential values for which the military must exist, military character education will directly and indirectly contribute to improving military efficiency. For a soldier, his or her character is not simply a way of necessary for the adaptation in his or her barracks life and a kind of good interpersonal relationships in it, but also a moral competency that is demonstrated in the battle or the war he or she may carry out. As Weber defined society as a means/end rationality, military organizations also perform their unique functions and use the most efficient and rational means to achieve their specific end. Just as the means/end rationality destroys old traditions, military character education consistent with military identity can most effectively change military organizations.

Moral competency of students at a german medical school – A longitudinal survey

BackgroundMedical students and doctors face various challenges in clinical practice. Some of these challenges are related to ethical issues. Therefore, teaching ethics respectively building moral competences has become an integral part of the medical curriculum in Germany and many other countries. To date, there is little evidence on moral competence of medical students.MethodsSelf-administered survey among medical students from one German medical school in the first (cohort 1) and fifth semester (cohort 2) in the winter term 2019/20 (T0). Both cohorts received the same questionnaire one year later in winter term 2020/21 (T1). Assessment was performed with Lind’s Moral Competence Test. We performed convenience sampling. We analyzed the data with descriptive statistics and C-Scores as a measure of moral competence (higher scores = higher competence, ≥ 30 points = high competence).ResultsA total of 613 students participated in the study (response rate 67.5%, n = 288 with data on both time points). 69.6% of the participants were female, the mean age was 21.3 years. Mean C-Score for both cohorts for T0 (first and fifth semester) is 32.5 ± 18.0 and for T1 (third and seventh semester) is 30.4 ± 17.9. Overall, 6.6% (T0) and 6.7% (T1) of respondents showed some but very low moral competence. 3.3% (T0) and 3.0% (T1) showed no moral competence. Additionally, students without prior experience in the healthcare system scored 3.0 points higher.ConclusionsImprovement of assessment of moral competence as well effective interventions are particular needed for supporting those students which have been identified to demonstrate little moral competences.