Moral Decision-making Process Research Articles

A human rights method of ethics – marrying intuitionism, reasoning, and communication

ABSTRACT This article advocates and explores a human rights method of ethics as a contribution to the process of moral decision-making. A human rights approach is richer than is often understood and can offer a practically relevant and emotionally well-grounded framework that is helpful for linking local situations and global concerns.

The Foreign Language Effect on Physician Decision Making

Nearly 30% of all physicians in the US are immigrants from another country. Because of this, along with the globalization of societies today, physicians often come across decisions they have to make in their non-native language. The Foreign Language Effect (FLE) is the effect of the context of language on the decision-making process. Specifically, moral judgment may be affected depending on the language in which a medical-ethical dilemma is presented. This study examined whether the FLE was observed in native Japanese and French speakers when confronted with two medical ethical questions. Participants were given the questionnaire in a randomized order in either their L1 or L2, which was English. A FLE was observed with Japanese physicians, as there was a difference in responses to the ethical questions ( p-value= 0.001); whereas with French physicians, no FLE was found (p-value= 0.23). It is possible that the use of a logographic language(Japanese) versus a non-logographic language(French) is what creates the FLE in physician decision-making. In general, the use of a logographic language compared to a non-logographic language in a clinical setting may lead to an adverse effect on the moral decision-making process.

Preventing Moral Crisis and Promoting Sustainable Development in Enterprises: A Study of Managers’ Moral Decision-Making

A moral crisis poses significant challenges to the success and sustainable development of a corporation. In this context, managers’ moral decision-making becomes paramount. Managers’ moral choices and actions directly impact the corporation‘s ability to effectively address these crises, ultimately shaping its outcomes and prospects. This study employs the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework to explore the determinants that influence the moral decision-making process of managers. Specifically, the study introduces two new variables, namely, moral climate and moral self-efficacy, to enrich the existing theory. By employing structural equation modeling (SEM), the study examines the interrelationships among moral attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, moral intentions, moral decision-making, and the two new variables. The research findings provide compelling evidence that both moral climate and moral self-efficacy have a substantial impact on the moral decision-making process of managers. Notably, moral self-efficacy emerges as a mediating variable in the relationship between moral climate and moral intention. The findings of this study hold significant value for the development of moral decision-making models and the theory of planned behavior, with practical implications that can assist organizations in achieving sustainable growth and success.

Fear facilitates utilitarian moral judgments: Evidence from a moral judgment task.

Previous research on moral judgment (MJ) has focused on understanding the cognitive processes and emotional factors that influence different types of moral judgment tasks, such as personal and impersonal dilemmas. However, few studies have distinguished between the emotions related to cognition and the complex emotions specifically caused by MJ tasks. This gap in knowledge is important to address to have a better understanding of how emotions influence moral judgment. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of fear and the role of moral emotions on MJ. Data were collected from 145 participants through jsPsych and analyzed using mixed-model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis. The study found that individuals who were triggered by the fear increased the number of utilitarian moral judgments in personal moral scenarios and lengthened the cognitive process, but not in impersonal moral dilemmas. Hence, we speculate that fear may play a cognitive role in personal moral dilemmas and an emotional role in impersonal moral dilemmas. Another finding is that the complex moral emotions arising from the moral decision-making process may affect the effectiveness of fear and potentially influence moral judgments. However, this study adopts a cautious attitude toward these discoveries, and further verification of this hypothesis should be conducted in the future.

The Influence of Teachers as Role Models in Madrasah Ibtidaiyah: Impact on Students' Moral and Ethical Development

This research explores the influence of teachers as role models in Madrasah Ibtidaiyah or Madrasah Ibtidaiyah and its impact on students' moral and ethical development. The study adopts a library research approach, utilizing existing literature, scholarly articles, and relevant texts to gather information and insights. The research employs a descriptive analysis method to analyze the collected data and examine the specific practices and qualities that make teachers effective role models in this context. The study also explores the long-term effects of teachers' positive moral and ethical influence on students, exploring how these effects manifest in their personal lives, relationships, and contributions to society. The research also explores how teachers can address students' contemporary moral and ethical challenges, such as social media influences, cultural diversity, and globalization, while remaining true to Islamic values and teachings. Moreover, the study describes the internalization of their teachers' moral and ethical behaviours and the subsequent impact on their moral decision-making processes and behaviour outside of the educational context. This research aims to contribute to understanding the crucial role that teachers play as role models in madrasah ibtidaiyah and its implications for students' moral and ethical development.

Ethical and legal challenges of automated driving: The prioritization of socio-political values

Much research on the ethics of automated driving (AD) focusses on moral decision-making processes in extreme traffic situations. However, more likely scenarios involving daily trade-offs among different values in the design and implementation of AD are also worth considering. Our main goal was to provide an in-depth analysis of how diverse experts and stakeholders prioritize different socio-political values. Through a series of workshops, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, we assessed today's major social, ethical, and legal concerns related to AD, as well as their relative prioritization in specific near-future realistic traffic scenarios. We summarize experts’ and lay-people's opinions on the trade-offs among six socio-political values (privacy, autonomy, safety, security, performance, and costs) and present overall recommendations for the design of future AD technologies.

Нейрофизиология и мораль: проблема междис­циплинарного исследования

The aim of the paper is to reveal the main methodological problems of neuroethics in the course of its development as an interdisciplinary approach to the study of morality, as well as to propose a critical analysis of the results of cognitive science (neurophysiol­ogy) in the context of moral philosophy. For this purpose, the author analyzes the modern subject field of neuroethical research from the point of view of philosophical ethics and discusses the main conceptions in which the results of neurophysiological studies of the moral decision-making process are summarized. The author describes a general divi­sion of the subject field in terms of “neuroethics No. 1” (a part of bioethics) and “neu­roethics No. 2” (a proclaimed part of moral philosophy). The object of research of this ar­ticle is neuroethics No. 2. It is argued that in neuroethics No. 2 the conceptualization of the moral decision-making process is carried out everywhere in accordance with the scheme of “double processes”: intuitive / quick / associative and discursive / slow / calculation-based. Even if the role of intuition is denied, duality is still preserved. This is so because emotions, as an extra-rational part of the psyche, are considered the basis of a quick decision. It is shown that a non-reflexive borrowing of concepts and concep­tions of moral philosophy is carried out both at the level of formation of the subject of re­search and at the level of method. The qualitatively meaningful meaning of concepts is blurred or substituted. Such a language transition outside the boundaries of the subject area of neurophysiology only simulates the presence of interdisciplinarity. The research remains in the frames of the study of cognitive processes, without their moral component. It is concluded that for the development of neuroethics as an interdisciplinary direction, we need to obtain a synthesis of the meanings developed in the course of cultural devel­opment and of the data on human biological development. Further, in accordance with such a synthetic subject we need to adjust the research method, also we must avoid sub­stituting the concepts of philosophical ethics.

Ahlak Okuryazarlığı Ölçeğinin Geliştirilmesi: Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması

Son yıllarda eğitim sistemleri ve öğretim programlarının genel amaçlarında birtakım değişimler ortaya çıkmış, bu kapsamda beceri temelli yeni yaklaşımlar benimsenmiştir. Bu bağlamda öğretim programlarında anadili, fen ve matematik okuryazarlığı, kültürlerarası okuryazarlık gibi beceri alanlarına yönelik öğretim çıktıları dikkat çekmektedir. Bunun yanında vatandaşlık eğitiminin vazgeçilmez bir parçasını oluşturan ahlak eğitiminde ahlak okuryazarlığı kavramı önde gelen tartışma konularından birisini oluşturmaktadır. 
 Ahlak okuryazarlığı, kendi ahlaki değerleri üzerinde düşünme, çeşitli seçeneklerin olası sonuçlarını ve bunların etkilerini belirleme, hangi seçeneğin kişinin değerleriyle uyumlu olduğu konusunda mantıklı kararlar verme, değerleriyle tutarlı hareket etme, kendi eylemlerinin sorumluluğunu almayı kapsayan temel bir beceriyi ifade eder. Nancy Tuana tarafından kavramsallaştırılan ahlak okuryazarlığı, ahlaki ahlaki duyarlılık, ahlaki muhakeme becerileri ve ahlaki imgelem olmak üzere üç temel öğeden ve bunların altında yer alan üç alt beceriden oluşur. Söz konusu beceriler genel itibariyle ahlaki karar verme sürecini yöneten düşünsel becerileri kapsar. 
 Bu çalışma Tuana’nın teorisinden hareketle geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı geliştirmeyi hedeflemiştir. Keşfedici sıralı desene uygun olarak tasarlanan araştırma kapsamında ilgili literatür taranarak ahlak okuryazarlığına yönelik olarak gerçekleştirilen çalışmalar nitel veri analizi ile incelenmiştir. Teorik yapının netleştirilmesiyle birlikte ölçek geliştirme işlemine başlanmıştır. Ahlak okuryazarlığı ölçeği geliştirme çalışmasında şu aşamalar izlenmiştir: i. Madde havuzunun oluşturulması, ii. Kapsam geçerliliğinin yapılması, iii. Taslak formun gözden geçirilerek son halinin verilmesi, iv. Ölçeğin uygulanması, v. Madde analizleri, yapı geçerliliği ve güvenilirlik analizlerinin yapılması, vi. Alt ölçekler arasındaki korelasyon ve toplam puanın incelenmesi, vii. Ölçeğe son halinin verilerek raporlanması.
 Birinci aşamada 27 maddeden oluşan taslak form için, beş alan uzmanı ve bir dil uzmanından görüş alınmış, alan uzmanlarının önerileri doğrultusunda 1 madde teorik yapıyla uyumlu olmaması nedeniyle ölçekten çıkarılmış ve bunun yerine kapsama uygun olacağı düşünülen 1 madde daha eklenmiştir. Değişikliklerle nihai hali verilen taslak form, 2018-2019 eğitim yılı güz döneminde Eskişehir Osmangazi ve Anadolu Üniversitesi’nde öğrenim gören 653 üniversite öğrencisine uygulanmıştır. Verilerin bilgisayara girilmesi aşamasında özenli işaretlenmediği görülen ve güvenilir bulunmayan 88 veri analiz dışında bırakılmıştır. Ölçeğin madde analizlerinde korelasyon katsayıları 0.35’ten düşük olması nedeniyle 3 madde kapsam dışında bırakılmış ve yapı geçerliğine geçilmiştir. 
 Açımlayıcı faktör analizinde de .40’tan düşük değer alan ve binişiklik gösteren 7 madde daha analizden çıkarılmıştır. Bu işlemden sonra yapılan faktör analizi sonucunda 5 faktör ve 20 maddeden oluşan bir yapı elde edilmiştir. Güvenilirlik analizi sonucunda ölçeğin tamamının yüksek güvenilirliğe sahipken alt boyutların orta ve düşük güvenilirlik düzeylerine sahip olduğu görülmüştür. Açımlayıcı faktör analizi ile elde edilen yapının doğrulayıcı faktör analizi ile test edilmesi sonucunda doğrulandığı da tespit edilmiştir. Doğrulayıcı faktör analizine göre ise ortaya çıkan yapının iyi uyum gösterdiği görülmüştür. Ölçeğin alt boyutları arasındaki ilişki incelendiğinde, alt boyutlar arasında orta düzeyde anlamlı pozitif bir ilişki bulunduğu ve ölçeğin ahlak okuryazarlığı becerisine yönelik tutumlar için toplam puan elde edilebileceği ifade edilebilir. Sonuç olarak gerçekleştirilen bu işlemler neticesinde elde edilen ölçeğin, üniversite öğrencilerinin ahlak okuryazarlığı becerisine ilişkin tutumlarını güvenilir ve geçerli bir şekilde ölçebileceği söylenebilir.

Judgment and Embodied Cognition of Lawyers. Moral Decision-Making and Interoceptive Physiology in the Legal Field.

Past research showed that the ability to focus on one’s internal states (e.g., interoceptive ability) positively correlates with the self-regulation of behavior in situations that are accompanied by somatic and/or physiological changes, such as emotions, physical workload, and decision-making. The analysis of moral oriented decision-making can be the first step for better understanding the legal reasoning carried on by the main players in the field, as lawyers are. For this reason, this study investigated the influence of the decision context and interoceptive manipulation on the moral decision-making process in the legal field gathering the responses of two groups of lawyers. A total of 20 lawyers were randomly divided into an experimental group (EXP), which was explicitly required to focus the attention on its interoceptive correlates, and a control group (CON), which only received the general instruction to perform the task. Both groups underwent a modified version of the Ultimatum Game (UG), where are presented three different moral conditions (professional, company, and social) and three different offers (fair, unfair, and equal). Results highlighted a significant increase of Acceptance Rate (AR) in those offers that should be considered more equal than fair or unfair ones, associated with a general increase of Reaction Times (RTs) in the equal offers. Furthermore, the interoceptive manipulation oriented the Lawyers toward a more self-centered decision. This study shows how individual, situational, contextual, and interoceptive factors may influence the moral decision-making of lawyers. Future research in the so-called Neurolaw field is needed to replicate and expand current findings.

The Ethics in Long-Term Care Model: Everyday Ethics and the Unseen Moral Landscape of Assisted Living.

Assisted living (AL) communities are long-term care settings where people live, work, and visit, and where social relationships and care, including end-of-life care, are negotiated. Assisted living is fraught with uncertainty and conflict about values, especially given residents' cognitive and physical frailty. These value-laden issues have implications for both resident and care partners' experiences. Yet, almost no research has examined ethics in this complex care environment. In this article, we draw on and synthesize existing theory, research, and practice knowledge to offer a conceptual model and discuss case examples that highlight everyday ethical issues in AL. We conceptualize the moral decision-making process and hence the moral landscape of AL, as influenced by a myriad of multi-level factors that shape interpersonal encounters and decision-making involving residents and their care partners, which ultimately shape individuals' actions and experiences in the setting. We conclude by discussing implications for research, policy, and practice.

The association between moral identity and moral decisions in adolescents.

The present study explores moral identity, moral emotion attribution, moral responsibility, acceptability, and moral decisions in adolescents. We hypothesized that moral identity predicts moral decisions in adolescents. Furthermore, we hypothesized that moral emotions mediate the relationship between moral identity and moral decisions and moral identity and moral responsibility/acceptability. A total of 749 adolescents were recruited. Questions regarding moral identity, moral emotion attribution, moral responsibility, acceptability, and moral decisions were answered by the participants. SPSS and AMOS wereused to analyze the data obtained.The results showed that moral identity was related positively to moral decisions and negatively to moral emotion attribution in adolescents. Mediation analysis showed that moral emotions were a significant mediator between moral identity and moral decisions. The findings indicate that moral identity plays an essential role in the moral decision-making processes in adolescents.

Impact of a Novel Method of Ethics Education on Nurse Leaders’ Capacity for Moral Decision-Making:: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

This 2018–2019 study assessed the impact of a novel educational intervention on the moral decision-making process of nurse leaders. Utilizing Rest’s model of decision-making, we used a grounded theory approach to examine the impact of the Ethical Lens Inventory on the moral decision-making of 30 nurse leaders at a large, tertiary medical center. Three larger themes emerged: the perspectives-based theoretical framework, the need for restraint in ethical deliberation, and the perceptions of organizational support. The Ethical Lens Inventory and accompanying lecture proved helpful in developing the first 2 stages of Rest’s model of decision-making, as well as in demonstrating organizational support. This 2018–2019 study assessed the impact of a novel educational intervention on the moral decision-making process of nurse leaders. Utilizing Rest’s model of decision-making, we used a grounded theory approach to examine the impact of the Ethical Lens Inventory on the moral decision-making of 30 nurse leaders at a large, tertiary medical center. Three larger themes emerged: the perspectives-based theoretical framework, the need for restraint in ethical deliberation, and the perceptions of organizational support. The Ethical Lens Inventory and accompanying lecture proved helpful in developing the first 2 stages of Rest’s model of decision-making, as well as in demonstrating organizational support. Brooklyn Aaron, BA, is a WellStar Religion and Public Life Fellow at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. She can be reached at [email protected] . Avery Glover, MA, is an MD/MBA Candidate at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts and Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, in Waltham, Massachusetts. Evelina Sterling, PhD, MPH, MCHES, is the Director of Research Development & Strategic Initiatives at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. Stuart Downs, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, CPHQ, FACHE, FAONL, is the Director of Critical Care Services at Northside Hospital Gwinnett in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Jason Lesandrini, FACHE, LPEC, HEC-C, is the VP of Ethics, Advance Care Planning, Spiritual Health, and Interpretive Services at WellStar Health System in Atlanta, GA.

Practical wisdom: How do personal virtue beliefs and contextual factors interact in adolescents’ moral decision-making?

ABSTRACT Adolescence has been highlighted as a significant period in an individual’s character development and autonomous decision-making. Social cognitive theories of character emphasise the importance of the interaction between person and context in making decisions which promote the good. A Grounded Theory methodology was used to explore how adolescents apply their virtue beliefs when faced with moral dilemmas, an ability which has been called ‘practical wisdom’ in some theories of character development. Eighteen participants aged 12–15 took part in interviews to explore their moral decision-making processes. The findings suggest the interaction between adolescents’ virtue beliefs and contextual factors can vary according to the individual’s prior experience, the factors salient to them within the immediate context (particularly social and emotional factors) and the weight they assign to possible consequences of their decisions. The study concludes that adolescents’ moral decision-making processes vary between individuals and across situations, with social cognitive theories of decision-making offering a possible explanation for these variations.

The effect of suppressing guilt and shame on the immoral decision-making process

The role of emotions in all stages of the moral decision-making process has previously been addressed. Little attention, however, has been paid to how the decision-making process is altered when dissimilar types of emotions are suppressed. In four studies, we investigated the effects of suppressing guilt and suppressing shame on the moral decision-making process. Overall results indicate that suppression of guilt and shame influences each of the three stages of the moral decision-making process—judgment, intention, and behavior—differently. In particular, suppressing guilt influenced the three stages consecutively in the moral decision-making process. In contrast, suppressing shame directly influenced moral behavior without traveling through the stages of moral decision-making consecutively. Our results imply distinctive characteristics of guilt and shame—not only in their generative processes but also in their consequences, as well as in the stages of moral judgment, intention, and behavior—when they are suppressed. This finding has important implications for moral psychology, as it points toward a previously overlooked mechanism linking emotions to the moral decision-making process.

The Process of Moral Decision-Making in a Game-Based Narrative Scenario through the Experience of Future Government Workers

This article describes the results of a qualitative study that aimed at investigating moral decision-making processes of prospective government workers using a game-based tool. Three participants volunteered to participate in the research process, which included playing a short point-and-click narrative game and a focus group. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis as well as narrative maps which emphasized players’ decisions. Analysis indicated similarities among participants’ moral decision-making processes, from initial experiment and struggles with the tool to the application of personal and professional experiences to the game scenario. Additionally, levels of empathic engagement were found to be conditioned upon participants’ approaches to play. The results of this exploratory study shed light into aspects of moral decision-making with serious games and allow for the suggestion of instructional practices to raise learners’ moral self-awareness through game-based learning.

Methodist Morals: Social Principles and the Public Church's Witness

Darryl Stephens, Director of Methodist Studies at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, has written an excellent study of the United Methodist Church's Social Principles as ‘an authentic voice of Methodism, a church faithfully proclaiming its witness in the world’ (9). This positive evaluation of Social Principles is made in full recognition of the complex and often controversial process by which the Social Principles have developed and changed, as well as the need for substantial improvement that he recommends.The first chapter, ‘Heir to the Social Creed’, traces the historical antecedents of Social Principles in the documents and decisions of the United Methodist Church's (UMC) predecessor denominations. This provides the background for a detailed study of the composition and development of the Social Principles in the second chapter. Stephens emphasizes the importance of the process of moral decision-making over against the text that is produced. Even when this process is often fraught with tension and political manoeuvring, it is significant that the UMC engages in wrestling together over its ethical witness to the broader society. He proposes that the result is a set of ‘middle axioms’ that ought to ‘promote dialogue about moral issues upon which faithful Christians may have different opinions’ (48). These differences ought to be a motivation for continued dialogue, learning, and teaching. However, the way some of the statements are worded obscures this.In the third chapter, ‘Politics and Grace’, Stephens analyses how the Social Principles relate to spiritual and moral formation. He notes that historically, Methodists have understood themselves as a holiness movement and their moral statements have been directed toward the church members as a tool for moral formation. The Social Principles are different as they are directed not only to the members of the church but also to the broader society. They are a document of public witness. That does not mean that moral formation is unimportant but for Stephens, this is relocated to the process of discussing, writing, editing, and changing the Social Principles. However, this process is made more complex as it takes the form of democratic decision-making at General Conference and is thus subject to the complex politics of the UMC, where the desire to ensure that a particular opinion becomes part of the Social Principles is often stronger than the desire to participate in a process of spiritual growth through discussion and mutual decision-making.Chapter 4 on ‘Theological and Moral Learning’ describes the theologically ‘thin’ character of the Social Principles and their lack of in-depth engagement with the key theological themes of the Methodist tradition. Rather than providing theological ethical reasoning, the Social Principles make assertions. As the document is revised at each General Conference, these assertions are often the product of particular political processes rather than a carefully integrated theological framework. Importantly, Stephens notes the numerous similarities between the Social Principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, suggesting that its most significant intellectual heritage lies in the secular human rights traditions.The fifth chapter examines various adaptations made by the Central Conferences outside the United States, emphasizing the United States-centric character of the General Conference-approved version. The sixth and seventh chapters deal with the issues around sexuality and marriage—these go beyond the Social Principles to examine how the statements in the Social Principles (and earlier ethical guidelines) were interpreted, turned into church law, and applied in the life of the church. Stephens again notes the lack of a theological ethical framework. The final chapter compares the vision of the public identity and witness of the Church that emerges from the Social Principles with the ecclesiologies of Paul Ramsey and Stanley Hauerwas. A conclusion affirms the Church's engagement with the world.This brief summary does not do justice to the wealth of information to be found in the book, in particular the detailed historical work on the text of the Social Principles and other ethical texts. The book challenges the UMC in four ways. The first is a broad challenge of what is the character of the Church's public ethical witness. The second is the importance of the process of dialogue in forming that witness. The third is tension between internationally applicable principles and the realities of diverse contexts. The fourth, and to my mind most significant challenge, is how our Methodist theological tradition should inform and shape our ethical decisions. Some of these issues are addressed in the revised Social Principles to be put to the 2021 General Conference. Whether they have succeeded would require another book.

Does change in ethical education influence core moral values? Towards history- and culture-aware morality model with application in automatic moral reasoning

In this study, we focus on ethical education as a means to improve artificial companion’s conceptualization of moral decision-making process in human users. In particular, we focus on automatically determining whether changes in ethical education influenced core moral values in humans throughout the century. We analyze ethics as taught in Japan before WWII and today to verify how much the pre-WWII moral attitudes have in common with those of contemporary Japanese, to what degree what is taught as ethics in school overlaps with the general population’s understanding of ethics, as well as to verify whether a major reform of the guidelines for teaching the school subject of “ethics” at school after 1946 has changed the way common people approach core moral questions (such as those concerning the sacredness of human life). We selected textbooks used in teaching ethics at school from between 1935 and 1937, and those used in junior high schools today (2019) and analyzed what emotional and moral associations such contents generated. The analysis was performed with an automatic moral and emotional reasoning agent and based on the largest available text corpus in Japanese as well as on the resources of aJapanesedigital library. As a result, we found out that, despite changes in stereotypical view on Japan’s moral sentiments, especially due to historical events, past and contemporary Japanese share a similar moral evaluation of certain basic moral concepts, although there is a large discrepancy between how they perceive some actions to be beneficial to the society as a whole while at the same time being inconclusive when it comes to assessing the same action’s outcome on the individual performing them and in terms of emotional consequences. Some ethical categories, assessed positively before the war, while being associated with a nationalistic trend in education have also disappeared from the scope of interest of post- war society. The findings of this study support suggestions proposed by others that the development of personal AI systems requires supplementation with moral reasoning. Moreover, the paper builds upon this idea and further suggests that AI systems need to be aware of ethics not as a constant, but as a function with a correction on historical and cultural changes in moral reasoning.

AI and moral thinking: how can we live well with machines to enhance our moral agency?

Humans should never relinquish moral agency to machines, and machines should be ‘aligned’ with human values; but we also need to consider how broad assumptions about our moral capacities and the capabilities of AI, impact on how we think about AI and ethics. Consideration of certain approaches, such as the idea that we might programme our ethics into machines, may rest upon a tacit assumption of our own moral progress. Here I consider how broad assumptions about morality act to suggest certain approaches in addressing the ethics of AI. Work in the ethics of AI would benefit from closer attention not just to what our moral judgements should be, but also to how we deliberate and act morally: the process of moral decision-making. We must guard against any erosion of our moral agency and responsibilities. Attention to the differences between humans and machines, alongside attention to ways in which humans fail ethically, could be useful in spotting specific, if limited, ways that AI assist us to advance our moral agency.

Does morality predict aggressive driving? A conceptual analysis and exploratory empirical investigation

Risky and aggressive driving is an important cause of traffic casualties and as such a major health and cost problem to society. Given the consequences for others, risky and aggressive driving has a clear moral component. Surprisingly, however, there has been little research on the relation between morality and risky and aggressive driving behavior. In this study we aim at addressing this gap. First, we present a conceptual analysis of the relationship between moral values and aggressive driving behavior. For this purpose, we extend Schwartz’s integrated model of ethical decision making and apply it to the context of aggressive driving. This conceptual analysis shows that moral decision-making processes consist of several stages, like moral awareness, moral judgment and moral intent, each of which are influenced by individual and situational factors and all of which need to materialize before someone’s generally endorsed moral value affects concrete behavior. This suggests that the moral value-aggressive driving relationship is rather indeterminate. This conceptual picture is confirmed by our empirical investigation, which tests to what extent respondents’ moral values, measured through the Moral Foundation Questionnaire, are predictive of respondents’ aggressive driving behavior, as measured through an aggressive driving behavior scale. Our results show few and rather weak empirical relationships between moral values and committed aggressive driving behaviors, as was expected in light of our conceptual analysis. We derive several policy implications from these results.

Managers as Moral Leaders: Moral Identity Processes in the Context of Work

This qualitative study explores how business leaders narrate their personal ways of recognizing, reasoning, and resolving moral conflicts and what these stories reveal about their moral identity processes within organizational contexts. Based on interviews with 25 business leaders, 4 moral identity statuses were identified: achievement (commitment to a personally meaningful moral value framework that had been established through a period of self-exploration), moratorium (self-exploration of one’s moral value framework that was ongoing), foreclosure (commitment to a given moral value framework that was present with little or no personal self-exploration), and diffusion (neither clear commitment to nor exploration of a personal moral value framework was present). The moral identity statuses were based on how leaders approached and interpreted moral conflicts and what the influence of the organizational context was in their moral decision-making processes. Some remained steadfast in adhering to their previous value commitments, while others tried to avoid taking any clear moral standpoint. Still others experienced moral conflicts as disequilibrating events that triggered reflective processes and developmental cycles of moral identity change. These moral identity statuses hold implications for facilitating moral identity development among business leaders in the context of work.