Personal Dilemmas Research Articles

Integrating ethics and democratic principles in chemistry education: a case study

Abstract This study presents a novel approach to integrating ethics and core values into chemistry education through the module “Culture of Democracy Through the Didactics of Chemistry.” Developed as part of a broader initiative aimed at educating future teachers for democracy and human rights, this module explores the ethical dimensions of chemical knowledge and its social and environmental impact. Utilizing the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, it introduces pre-service teachers to concepts such as responsibility, human dignity, and the rule of law. The module involved six pre-service teachers and two schoolteacher-mentors. Key activities included student-led discussions, such as exploring personal responsibility and moral dilemmas in chemistry, exemplified by the Heinz dilemma, and engaging in discourse on the possibility of breaking a law for morally justifiable reasons to comprehend the delicate balance between legal duties and moral responsibilities. Through reflective exercises and collaborative learning, pre-service teachers engage critically with the ethical implications of their future profession. Initial feedback highlights the value of integrating ethical discussions into chemistry education, fostering deeper reflection and a sense of responsibility among pre-service teachers. The study provides a valuable framework for educators integrating ethics into science curricula, fostering responsible chemistry practice aligned with social values.

Inégalités de genre : hommes alliés dans les STEM – motivations et freins

Although STEM-related careers offer promising prospects, girls and women remain underrepresented and less inclined to engage in these fields. This article explores men's role as allies for better inclusion of women in STEM fields. A qualitative study with seven professionals in the sector reveals an awareness of gender inequalities, often attributed to personal choices. The findings highlight barriers to engagement including unawareness of systemic inequalities, professional costs of advocating for equality, and personal dilemmas. Motivations are grounded in moral values and ethical considerations.

Managing disruptions and dilemmas in online geoscience instruction during the early 2020 COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic differentially disrupted daily activity in higher education during the spring of 2020, with ramifications for geoscience instructors’ teaching practices. Though facing similar challenges in this transition to many faculty nationwide, disciplinary specific coursework, such as field work and field trips to observe geological structures and processes posed unique challenges. To better understand this phenomenon, we surveyed and interviewed geoscience instructors about their lived experiences during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify dilemmas faculty experienced as they transitioned from in-person to online teaching. Findings give us a glimpse into faculty respondents’ thinking about teaching as they managed their work and personal responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey participants discussed teaching most frequently in their responses (38.6%) and 95.4% of survey participants expressed a teaching dilemma in their survey responses. In coding these dilemmas, we expand on Windschitl’s dilemmas framework of conceptual, pedagogical, cultural, and political dilemmas to include personal and technological dilemmas. Results indicate that faculty experienced personal dilemmas most frequently (82.7%). Online resources and discussions with faculty within and beyond their institution were most helpful in supporting the transitions to online learning. Participating faculty specifically mentioned communities designed to support geoscience teaching and learning, such as those facilitated by the NAGT, indicating the importance of discipline-specific faculty learning. We believe these insights can help understand what supports faculty in making and navigating future instructional changes and offer suggestions for faculty and administrators.

The Chromatic Awareness of Black and White in Andalusian and Omani Poetry: Ibn Khafaja and Sulaiman al-Nabhani as a Model

This study delves into the nuanced perception of black and white colors within the realm of Andalusian and Omani poetry, focusing on the works of Ibn Khafaja and Sulaiman bin Muzaffar al-Nabhani. It aims to uncover the depth of these poets' engagement with color, examining how they utilize black and white to articulate their personal dilemmas and psychological intricacies that surface through their poetic expressions. This exploration is anchored in the belief that color serves as a versatile poetic motif, with the poetic rendition of color experiences offering a reconstitution of reality tailored by the poets' psychological states, thereby rendering color projection as a means of catharsis. Employing Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory as its foundational methodology, this research probes into the unconscious elements of poetic creation, viewing it as a vehicle for expressing the suppressed aspects of the human psyche. The selection of black and white, predominant in the poets' anthologies, facilitates an exploration of diverse psychological and existential experiences, necessitating an analysis of color within poetry through its contextual integration to unveil its expressive and functional potency.

Social context during moral decision-making impacts males more than females.

Moral judgments are often viewed as the outcome of affective and deliberative processes that could be impacted by social factors and individual characteristics. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between gender and social context on moral judgment. Participants included 315 undergraduate students (67.3% female). The participants completed the Moral Decision-Making Task while seated at row tables facing the front of the room or round tables facing other participants. The results indicated that males responded in a more utilitarian manner (harm one to save five) than females for moral impersonal (MI) and moral personal (MP) dilemmas regardless of seating arrangements. When seated at round tables, all participants were more likely to respond deontologically (cause no harm) to the moral impersonal dilemmas. In addition, we calculated a moral reasoning difference score for each participant as the difference between the MI and MP scores to represent additional reactivity due to the idea of taking direct action. The moral reasoning difference score was consistent for females but indicated a more deontological response from males at round tables and a more utilitarian response from males at row tables. These results suggest that males are more utilitarian than females and are more likely to be influenced by social context when responding to moral dilemmas. More broadly, the current results indicate that moral judgments are affected by social context particularly in males in ways that have not been incorporated in many models of moral decision making.

Strategic technological processes in hospitals: Conflicts and personal experiences of healthcare teams.

Global health systems operate amid dynamic factors, including demographic shifts, economic variations, political changes, technological progress, and societal trends that lead to VUCA reality (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity). To address these challenges, healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to Strategic Technological Processes and digital transformation. Against this background, the current study examined the personal experiences, conflicts, difficulties, and moral dilemmas attendant upon accommodating this digital transformation of healthcare professionals. The study involved 27 healthcare professionals working in Israeli hospitals, whose experiences and perspectives were central to understanding the impact of digital transformation in healthcare settings. The study methodology rested on in-depth interviews, which were analyzed through the prism of the Listening Guide analytical technique. The research obtained pre-approval from the Ethics Committee at the researcher's institution. The study revealed that the healthcare professionals are indeed facing ethical conflicts and personal challenges related to digitalization (such as providing the best quality of care, being the best caregiver, and acting for the betterment of the hospital). It also identified dilemmas resulting from conflicts between the needs and demands of the health system and the healthcare professionals' values and resources. The study findings highlight the impact of ethical and moral challenges accompanying strategic organizational and digital transformation changes implemented by healthcare organizations worldwide. These challenges arise as healthcare institutions adapt to the demands of the 21st century, potentially leading to burnout and moral distress among healthcare professionals, further exacerbating the already stressful reality they face. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the critical necessity for comprehensive support strategies to alleviate stress and burnout among healthcare professionals. As healthcare organizations and personnel navigate significant organizational changes to address contemporary challenges, prioritizing the well-being of healthcare workers through effective support mechanisms becomes imperative.

Bilinguals on the footbridge: the role of foreign-language proficiency in moral decision making

Abstract Socio-cognitive research on bilinguals points to a moral foreign-language effect (MFLE), with more utilitarian choices (e.g., sacrificing someone to save more people) for moral dilemmas presented in the second language (L2) relative to the first language. Yet, inconsistent results highlight the influence of subject-level variables, including a critical underexplored factor: L2 proficiency (L2p). Here we provide a systematic review of 57 bilingualism studies on moral dilemmas, showing that L2p rarely modulates responses to impersonal dilemmas, but it does impact personal dilemmas (with MFLEs proving consistent at intermediate L2p levels but unsystematic at high L2p levels). We propose an empirico-theoretical framework to conceptualize such patterns, highlighting the impact of L2p on four affective mediating factors: mental imagery, inhibitory control, prosocial behavior and numerical processing. Finally, we outline core challenges for the field. These insights open new avenues at the crossing of bilingualism and social cognition research.

Basic beliefs about self and the world in people with suicidal ideation

IntroductionBasic beliefs can be defined as a person’s implicit, global, stable ideas about the world and about himself. The psychological features of people with suicidal ideas can be considered as characteristics of the value sphere of a person who is ready to choose a destructive way of solving problems.ObjectivesThe relationship of basic beliefs regarding the general «Benevolence of the surrounding world», its «Meaningfulness» and «Worthiness of the Self» with the presence of suicidal ideas was investigated.MethodsThe study involved 140 people, (117 women). The Janoff-Buhlman World Assumptions Scale (WAS), the short Epstein Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI)), Simptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90R), moral dilemmas (proposed by J.D.Green), as well as separate questions about the suicidal ideation, risk tendency were used.For analysis, the subjects were divided into two subgroups: 98 people without thoughts of suicide; and 42 people answered that they had thoughts of suicide of varying severity. The subgroups did not differ by gender; in the group with suicidal ideation, the average age of the subjects was lower.Results In the subgroup with suicidal ideas, almost all indicators of basic assumptions, such as “Benevolence of the World” (average values of 16.10 ± 3.28 and 12.13 ± 4.80 for the control subgroup and the subgroup with suicidal ideas), were lower: “Benevolence of the People “ (15.35±3.07 and 12.42±4.97), “justice” (12.46±3.30 and 10.46±3.60), “value of one’s own self” (16 .21±3.93 and 11.83±5.15), etc., with the exception of the “Self-controllability”, which does not differ between subgroups. Also, in the subgroup with suicidal ideas, the indicators of “randomness” were increased (15.67±3.64 and 18.67±3.96). Indicators on the clinical scale “Hostility” of the SCL-90R questionnaire are also significantly higher in the group with suicidal ideation (average values 0.53±0.5 and 1.29±0.8). In the group with suicidal ideation, there is a higher tendency to take risks. At the level of a statistical trend, the rational method of decision-making in the “Rational - Intuitive” questionnaire is lower (average values 14.3 and 13.0; significance level of differences 0.05). In the “Moral Dilemmas” test, in the subgroup with suicidal ideas, the ratio of choices in personal and impersonal dilemmas is statistically higher (0.67 and 0.93).Conclusions It was shown that the presence of suicidal ideas is associated with a reduced indicator of the Worthiness of the Self, the meaningfulness of the world and its benevolence, and with an increased sense of randomness as a principle for distributing ongoing events, which can manifest itself in a propensity for risk, impulsive decisions, devaluation of human life.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Maintaining Dignity and Autonomy in the Process of Aging

For decades, research has shown that ageism undermines older adults’ mental and physical health by implying they are less capable and worthy of care. The preservation of dignity and autonomy when confronted by a declining capacity for autonomous decision making due to physical or cognitive disability is difficult and can create personal and ethical dilemmas for providers and patients. It is projected that by 2050, 22.5% of the North American population will be over 65. In addition, statistics show that by 2060, 13.9 million Americans aged 65 and older are projected to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The incidence for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild neurocognitive disorder may be twice as high as dementia. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 states that all people are "free and equal in dignity and rights". However, this concept has not been implemented for all older adults especially those with cognitive impairment. Therefore, it is even more critical that mental health providers use their voice to educate people about the negative impact of ageism and advocate for older people in clinical settings.This workshop challenges conventional thinking about our aging population and moral concepts related to ageism, justice, and maintaining dignity and autonomy. This presentation will provide information on how to foster intergenerational solidarity that reduces ageism and benefits people of all ages. The presenters will discuss how autonomy plays a key role in this solidarity as it implies responsibilities as well as rights. In addition, a discussion of ethical theories which suggest that older adults are morally obligated to be productive with their talent and professions will be explained. Residents in long-term care are even more likely to be impacted by ageism as the prevailing belief in our culture is that life lived in independence is of more value than life lived in a facility. The workshop will discuss how providers who work in long term care can support residents and try to ensure their decisions and behaviors are as free from bias as possible. The presenters will use real life case scenarios to engage participants and facilitate learning about these issues.

Negative emotionality downregulation affects moral choice but not moral judgement of harm: a pharmacological study

Previous neuroscientific research has expounded on the fundamental role played by emotion during moral decision-making. Negative emotionality has been observed to exert a general inhibitory effect towards harmful behaviors against others. Nevertheless, the downregulation of negative affects at different levels of moral processing (e.g. impersonal versus personal moral dilemmas) alongside its possible interactions with other factors (e.g. perspective taking) hasn’t been directly assessed; both of which can assist in predicting future moral decision-making. In the present research, we empirically test (Study 1, N = 41) whether downregulating negative emotionality through pharmacological interventions using lorazepam (a GABA receptor agonist), modulate the permissibility of harm to others –i.e. if participants find it more morally permissible to harm others when harm is unavoidable (inevitable harm moral dilemmas), than when it may be avoided (evitable harm moral dilemmas). Furthermore, using another sample (Study 2, N = 31), we assess whether lorazepam’s effect is modulated by different perspective-taking conditions during a moral dilemma task –e.g. “is it morally permissible for you to […]?” (1st person perspective), relative to “is it morally permissible for [x individual] to […]?” (3rd person perspective)–, where the outcome of the different scenarios is controlled. The results of both studies converge, revealing an emotion-dependent, rather than an outcome-dependent, pharmacological modulation. Lorazepam only influenced interpersonal moral judgments when not modulated by the evitable/inevitable condition. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction between perspective-taking and drug administration, as lorazepam exerted a larger effect in modulating moral choices rather than moral judgements.

Veil-of-ignorance reasoning affects moral judgment and cognitive flexibility in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have rigid moral judgments compared to healthy people. They tend to prefer deontological options when they face moral dilemmas. Recent research has indicated that activating the Veil-of-Ignorance (VOI) reasoning changes moral judgment in healthy participants, leading them to favor utilitarian choices. However, the effect of VOI reasoning on OC patients' moral judgment has not been studied. The present research aimed to investigate the effect of VOI reasoning on moral judgment and cognitive flexibility of OC patients across two studies (N = 336). In study 1, we recruited 80 OCD participants and 80 healthy participants via convenience sampling and assigned them randomly to either the VOI or non-VOI group. Participants in the VOI group read the VOI versions of the footbridge (personal dilemma) and trolley (impersonal dilemma) dilemmas prior to answering the standard scenarios. In the control group, participants only responded to the standard versions of the dilemmas. In study 2, 88 OCD participants and 88 healthy participants were recruited and followed the same procedure as the first study except that they responded to the bioethical personal and impersonal dilemmas. At the end of each experiment, participants answered the cognitive flexibility test. Results indicated that OCD participants who engaged in VOI reasoning subsequently made more utilitarian choices in response to impersonal dilemmas compared to the OCD participants in the non-VOI condition. However, VOI reasoning did not change their choices in response to personal dilemmas. On the other hand, healthy participants favored utilitarian options in response to personal dilemmas. Both healthy and OC participants performed better on the cognitive flexibility test after engaging in VOI reasoning.

Meanness trumps language: Lack of foreign language effect in early bilinguals' moral choices.

Moral decision-making is influenced by various factors, including personality and language. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the Foreign-Language effect (FLe) in early, highly proficient, Catalan-Spanish bilinguals and examined the role of several personality dimensions in their responses to moral dilemmas. We obtained a multilevel data structure with 766 valid trials from 52 Catalan-dominant undergraduate students who read and responded anonymously to a computerized task with 16 standardized moral dilemmas, half in Catalan and half in Spanish. Results of a multilevel multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that consistent with previous research, participants gave more utilitarian responses to impersonal than personal dilemmas. The language of the dilemma had no effect on the response (dichotomous: utilitarian vs. deontological), decision time, or affective ratings, contradicting the hypothesis of shallower emotional processing of the information in the second language. Interestingly, cruelty features of psychopathy were significantly associated with an enhanced proportion of utilitarian decisions irrespective of the language or the nature of the dilemmas. Furthermore, cruelty features interacted with participants' assessment of dilemma aspects like vividness and verisimilitude. Overall, our findings suggest that early bilinguals immersed in a dual-language context using close Romance languages do not show the FLe and that personality traits like cruelty can modulate moral decisions regardless of language or dilemma type.

Personal Identity Dilemma Revisited: A Philosophic and Psychiatristic Approach

In a dynamic environment characterised by constant change, how do the mutable aspects of peoples identity contribute to its preservation? Can an individuals personal identity be comprehensively explicated just via the examination of either their unchanging or evolving elements? The aforementioned concerns exhibit interconnections with the perplexing task of ascertaining the identity equivalence between oneself and another individual. Despite experiencing various physical and psychological transformations, people maintain a consistent self-perception and are seen by others in a similar manner. This article aims to examine the topic of personal identity, proposing an analytical approach that focuses on two distinct dimensions: an individuals enduring attributes and their evolving traits. The genetic constitution and specific physical attributes of an individual are illustrative of the static elements that are seen to be inherent components of a person.

Grade 8 Lebanese students’ reasoning and decision-making about scientific versus socio-scientific issues

ABSTRACT Learners are expected to discuss and debate, using scientific evidence, the Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI) that often overlap with personal experiences and ethical dilemmas. This study investigated the reasoning of 24 Grade 8 Lebanese students when arguing about a scientific scenario as opposed to an SSI. It also examined how students make decisions and reason about SSIs. Results showed that students’ reasoning is more emotional in socio-scientific contexts than in scientific ones. Also, scientific reasoning was based on macroscopic (observed) characteristics of the phenomenon in an SSI but was based on microscopic (cellular/molecular details of mechanisms) features of the phenomenon in scientific contexts. Cultural, social, and ethical considerations influenced students’ decisions and reasons when constructing arguments. We discuss the results in light of the literature on reasoning about SSIs and provide instructional implications on how to teach argumentation within SSIs to enhance student reasoning.

The time course of moral decision making in bilinguals' native and foreign language

Previous work has shown that moral decision making depends on whether moral dilemmas are presented in the native or a foreign language (Foreign Language effect). In that work, the focus was on bilinguals' final decision, but the tasks used, failed to capture the processes involved over time. The aim of this study was to examine the time course of moral decision making in bilinguals' native and foreign language prior to and after their moral decision. In a visual-world eye-tracking experiment, 82 Dutch-English bilinguals listened to 20 moral dilemmas (e.g., would you kill one to save five?) in their native or foreign language, while looking at two pictures containing key people involved in the dilemmas. These pictures illustrated (1) the person/people that is/are sacrificed, and (2) the person/people that is/are not sacrificed, depending on the participants' decision which was measured with yes/no-questions. The Foreign Language effect was replicated for the decisions on the personal dilemmas. Importantly, the eye gaze data showed that in the native language, listeners looked at the person who they did not sacrifice, whereas in the foreign language, they looked at the people who they sacrificed. A speculative explanation is that bilinguals might have experienced guilt in the native language, and therefore focused attention on the person they did not sacrifice, while in the foreign language they might have experienced less guilt because they focused attention on the people they sacrificed. More research is needed to understand the influence of factors such as emotion reduction and cognitive load on moral decision making.

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 role of empathy in trolley problems and variants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The role of empathy in morality is a subject of ongoing scientific debate due to the lack of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on this topic. To address this gap, we conducted a PRISMA-based systematic quantitative review to investigate the role of empathy in moral judgements, decision-making, and inclinations using trolley problems and variants, which are popular types of moral dilemmas that explore utilitarianism and deontology. We searched for articles in four databases (PsycINFO, Pubmed, WorldWideScience, and Scopus) and performed citation searches. Out of 661 records, we selected 34 that studied the associations between empathy and moral judgements, moral decision-making, and/or moral inclinations. Six meta-analyses and systematic reviews of these records consistently showed small to moderate associations between affective empathy and these moral parameters, particularly in personal moral dilemmas involving intentional harm (although some approaches highlighted more complex associations between these parameters). Regarding other empathy domains, most studies found limited or insignificant links between cognitive empathy domains and moral judgements, decision-making, and inclinations. We discuss the nuances and implications of these results.

Review of “The Political Economy of Organ Transplantation: Where do Organs Come from?”

This thought-provoking work examines how the relationships of organs, tissues, and cells transferred from one body to another through donation, sale, or gift are mediated by the state, market, and family. The book is a thorough review of the sociological, anthropological, and ethical literature surrounding transplant organs but encased within the author’s own personal dilemmas and lived experience. His work skillfully underscores the negotiations and accommodations inherent in the use of these technologies and reveals the situatedness of decisions that belie any simplistic readings of the ethics of transplantations. Hagai Boas, himself a kidney transplantee, argues that the two main approaches in the social sciences to transplantation are driven largely by metaphors obscuring the difference between transplantation and trafficking: the first from critical medical anthropology that has focused primarily upon trafficking and equated transplantation with black market exchanges; and the other from transplantation medicine which has framed transplants primarily in terms of gift metaphors. Although I felt his characterizations of the anthropological literature failed to place it within its context (i.e. studies of subaltern donors in low income settings), he notes such discourses hide the situatedness of decisions about transplants, the realities of organ scarcity, the needs of patients who face eventual inevitable organ rejection, and the ability of organ transplantation to enhance the quality of life of transplantees and save lives. Rather, his path between these utopian and dystopic views of transplantation requires paying close attention to the political economy of transplanted organs as entities that are curated, prepared, and transferred from the bodies from which they are taken to the bodies in whom they are transplanted. He argues that organ transplantation is mediated by social institutions: the state (through regulations, donor registry schemes, and allocations); the market (in which organs are valued and may be sold and paid for); the family (who may offer organs to family members, or make decisions to finance transplants), or any combination of the three. This allows him to demonstrate how the mobility of organs and access to transplants is shaped by very specific social, cultural, legal, and political circumstances.

Verification of the Japanese Version of Greene’s Moral Dilemma Task’s Validity and Reliability

The moral dilemma task developed by Greene et al., which comprises personal and impersonal moral dilemmas, is useful for clarifying people’s moral judgments. This study develops and validates a Japanese version of this questionnaire. Ten new questions were added to the Japanese version using back-translation, and its internal validity was tested. A second survey was conducted among the same participants one month after the first survey (n = 231). The intraclass correlation coefficient through retesting was found to be 0.781. Test-retest, internal consistency, and criterion-related validity were confirmed by retesting the Japanese version of the moral dilemma task. Moral judgments differed in gender, with women and men tending to be more utilitarian in situations where emotions were less and more likely to be involved, respectively. The association between age and deontological moral judgments was also observed.

Inhabiting Regional Geographical Practice in a Climate‐Changing World

AbstractReflecting on the limits of the sovereign‐state centricity of mainstream contemporary climate action, Peter Taylor calls for new forms of regional geographical analysis and intervention. What might these aims and ambitions look and feel like for geographers? With this commentary, I take up Taylor's propositions through personal reflection on the work of “doing regional geography” in this current juncture of transnational climate action and transformation. I engage with the analytical challenges associated with regional climate research today – in my case, by way of financialized climate governance puzzles in Florida and the Netherlands. I also discuss how deconstructive and reconstructive approaches to knowledge production enliven my regional geographical engagement, but also generate new personal and disciplinary dilemmas. With this brief note, I hope to reinforce continued reflection on how geographers might take up – or inhabit – timely calls for regional analysis and intervention in climate‐changing regions.