Chapter 13: Moral & Prosocial Development Flashcards
Define morality
the intuitive sense of right and wrong that guides our own behaviour and leads us to judge and possibly condemn others’ behaviour
Our ________ is unique to humans
morality
- some animals have an understanding of negative consequences
- no other animal species thinks about moral obligation
Utilitarianism
- John Stuart Mill
- the idea that whatever results in the best outcome for the greatest number of people should be done
- intuitively, still seems wrong to us if someone is harmed
The “is ought” fallacy
- whatever is true in nature is morally correct
- but we see abuse cross-culturally and this is immoral
- the fallacy is that we look around us to decide what is right- “the naturalistic fallacy”
20th c views on moral development (a long one)
- Piaget and Kohlberg both think moral judgment is taught (deliberate not intuitive)
- Piaget’s theory of moral judgment: morality of constraint (no grey area, rules are unchanging) > transition period (from 8-10 rules can change and intention begins to matter) > autonomous morality (by 11, consider fairness and equality, rules can be unjust)
- watched kids play games- this is where they learn rules, enforce them, change them
- before 8, kids would see someone making a bigger mess as more problematic, regardless of their attempt to help
- Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Judgment…
- Preconventional: morals focus on reward/punishment
- Conventional: morals focus on social relationships
- Post-Conventional: morals focus on ideals and principles
- 6 stages: obedience, exchange, relationships, social systems, social contracts/individual rights, universal moral principles
- very few people get to the 6th stage
Criticism of Kohlberg
- Carol Gilligan
- disagreed with his subjects being all boys and men
- this caused women to score lower on measures of moral reasoning
- women may think about things differently- focusing on relationships whereas men favour universal principles
- reconsidered cross-culturally, non-industrial societies were not scoring high on Kohlberg’s instrument- nothing more important than relationships when problems are not settled in court of law
- little predictive value- people who score high do not meaningfully act more moral than others
Early Moral Development (4 milestones)
early empathy- 6 months respond to other baby’s cry, 14 months show empathy when experimenter is hurt
helping behaviour- 18 months help someone who has dropped something or needs to open something
recognizing helpful individuals- kids prefer characters who are helpful over those who are a hindrance (5 months prefer prosocial regardless of past behaviour, at 8 months this is not good enough- they perceive justice)
equitable sharing- 15 months look longer at unfair distribution
Social Exchange
- requires specialized cognitive machinery
- recognize and remember individuals
- cheater detection (part of our psychology)
- vampire bats good at this- will not continue social exchange with a non-helpful individual
Incest Avoidance
Westermarck effect: a psychological process that makes sexual attraction unlikely between two people who lived together as children.
- minor marriages produce fewer children because they grew up together
- communal housing in kibbutz rarely result in marriage b/t members
- co-residence predicts how morally wrong sibling sex seems (step siblings more likely to have sex)
Morally Dumbfounded
- our intuition tells us some things are wrong even if we can’t think of a reason
- morality is intuitive rather than rational!
According to our intuitions, a person in a position of authority…
could change social conventions but not moral rules.
- authority who dictates conventional rules is context-specific (teacher cannot control you at home)
- at 3-4 yrs, moral transgressions judged to be serious
- at 3 yrs, more likely to protest morals versus conventions
Define and give Examples of Moral Relativism
moral relativism: the idea that there is not a single set of moral principles that applies to all people, but that what appears to be morally correct can depend on status, social role, religion or perspective
- are moral obligations and prohibitions real? Our moral psychology creates morals. We are instinct blind. Challenges Piaget & Kohlberg.
- might makes right (a society’s view of right and wrong is determined by those in power)
- aristocracy (government where power is in the hands of a small ruling class)
- meritocracy (government where power is in the hands of people based on abilities/achievement rather than wealth/social class)
Define altruism and give possible explanations of altruism among unrelated people
- altruism: a behaviour which reduces the actor’s fitness and increases the recipient’s fitness
- reciprocal altruism: helping another individual and then having the favour returned
- by-product mutualism: if a friend invites you to their home it is rude to pay them.
- By-product mutualism explains friendships
- In the EEA, spending time with adept people comes with great benefits
Turiel’s Social Domain Theory
- universal morals (cheating, stealing) part of our psychology and reliably develops. Differentiate b/t universal morals and social conventions by 3 yrs. About fairness, equality, and justice
- social convention (modesty, nudity, raising hand before speaking) not universal but can be serious. Critical and sensitive periods. Need some environmental input to develop.
- personal choice (hair style, free time) how we do things ourselves
Children believe parents have authority over __________ but not __________
social conventions; moral universals
Function of Moral Psychology
- allows us to behave in a way that maximizes evolutionary fitness
- allows people to live together in community
- motivates moral and reparative behaviour
- in the EEA, it was important to mend social relationship problems
- function is not to give us access to some real-world moral truths
Evolutionary Stable Strategy
a strategy which, if used by a number of individuals in a population, cannot be invaded via NS by an alternative strategy that is introduced at low frequency
As friendship grows closer…
people keep track of their exchanges less
Historic Views on Moral Development
- Hobbes thought morals were learned. A blank-slate view.
- Locke- also empiricist view
What would Evolutionary Psychologists say?
NS gives rise to cognitive adaptations for human morality and moral thinking
- rejects idea that acquisition of morality is left to general-purpose learning mechanisms
Psychopaths cannot distinguish…
morals and social conventions
- typical children explain morals in terms of harm (some things are wrong even w/o written rules)
- psychopaths explain morals in terms of social conventions (if there is no rule in place it’s fine)
