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Pringle V, Sun J, Carlson EN. What is the moral person like? An examination of the shared and unique perspectives on moral character. J Pers 2024; 92:697-714. [PMID: 38014735 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The psychological profile of the moral person might depend on whose perspective is being used. Here, we decompose moral impressions into three components: (a) Shared Moral Character (shared variance across self- and informant reports), (b) Moral Identity (how a person uniquely views their morality), and (c) Moral Reputation (how others uniquely view that person's morality). METHOD In two samples (total N = 458), we used an extended version of the Trait-Reputation-Identity model to examine the extent to which each perspective accounts for the overall variance in moral impressions and the degree to which social and personal outcomes were associated with each perspective, controlling for method variance (i.e., positivity and acquiescence bias). RESULTS Results suggest that moral character impressions are strongly influenced by positivity and largely idiosyncratic. All components were related to higher levels of agreeableness. For the most part, however, the three components had unique correlates: people higher in Shared Moral Character tended to have higher standings on conscientiousness and honesty-humility, were more respected, and donated more during an in-lab game; people higher in Moral Identity endorsed various moral foundations to a greater extent; and people higher in Moral Reputation valued the loyalty foundation less. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate the value of considering multiple perspectives when measuring moral character.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Pringle
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jessie Sun
- Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Erika N Carlson
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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2
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Atari M, Mehl MR, Graham J, Doris JM, Schwarz N, Davani AM, Omrani A, Kennedy B, Gonzalez E, Jafarzadeh N, Hussain A, Mirinjian A, Madden A, Bhatia R, Burch A, Harlan A, Sbarra DA, Raison CL, Moseley SA, Polsinelli AJ, Dehghani M. The paucity of morality in everyday talk. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5967. [PMID: 37045974 PMCID: PMC10097712 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32711-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Given its centrality in scholarly and popular discourse, morality should be expected to figure prominently in everyday talk. We test this expectation by examining the frequency of moral content in three contexts, using three methods: (a) Participants' subjective frequency estimates (N = 581); (b) Human content analysis of unobtrusively recorded in-person interactions (N = 542 participants; n = 50,961 observations); and (c) Computational content analysis of Facebook posts (N = 3822 participants; n = 111,886 observations). In their self-reports, participants estimated that 21.5% of their interactions touched on morality (Study 1), but objectively, only 4.7% of recorded conversational samples (Study 2) and 2.2% of Facebook posts (Study 3) contained moral content. Collectively, these findings suggest that morality may be far less prominent in everyday life than scholarly and popular discourse, and laypeople, presume.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Atari
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
| | - Matthias R Mehl
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
| | - Jesse Graham
- Department of Management, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA
| | - John M Doris
- Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
- Sage School of Philosophy, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
| | - Norbert Schwarz
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Aida Mostafazadeh Davani
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Ali Omrani
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Brendan Kennedy
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Elaine Gonzalez
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Nikki Jafarzadeh
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Alyzeh Hussain
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Arineh Mirinjian
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Annabelle Madden
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Rhea Bhatia
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Alexander Burch
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Allison Harlan
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - David A Sbarra
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
| | - Charles L Raison
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA
| | | | | | - Morteza Dehghani
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
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Rehren P, Sinnott-Armstrong W. How Stable are Moral Judgments? REVIEW OF PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 14:1-27. [PMID: 35919561 PMCID: PMC9336125 DOI: 10.1007/s13164-022-00649-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Psychologists and philosophers often work hand in hand to investigate many aspects of moral cognition. In this paper, we want to highlight one aspect that to date has been relatively neglected: the stability of moral judgment over time. After explaining why philosophers and psychologists should consider stability and then surveying previous research, we will present the results of an original three-wave longitudinal study. We asked participants to make judgments about the same acts in a series of sacrificial dilemmas three times, 6-8 days apart. In addition to investigating the stability of our participants' ratings over time, we also explored some potential explanations for instability. To end, we will discuss these and other potential psychological sources of moral stability (or instability) and highlight possible philosophical implications of our findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Rehren
- Ethics Institute, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Bo O’Connor B, Lee K, Campbell D, Young L. Moral psychology from the lab to the wild: Relief registries as a paradigm for studying real-world altruism. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269469. [PMID: 35696389 PMCID: PMC9191725 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Experimental psychology’s recent shift toward low-effort, high-volume methods (e.g., self-reports, online studies) and away from the more effortful study of naturalistic behavior raises concerns about the ecological validity of findings from these fields, concerns that have become particularly apparent in the field of moral psychology. To help address these concerns, we introduce a method allowing researchers to investigate an important, widespread form of altruistic behavior–charitable donations–in a manner balancing competing concerns about internal validity, ecological validity, and ease of implementation: relief registries, which leverage existing online gift registry platforms to allow research subjects to choose among highly needed donation items to ship directly to charitable organizations. Here, we demonstrate the use of relief registries in two experiments exploring the ecological validity of the finding from our own research that people are more willing to help others after having imagined themselves doing so. In this way, we sought to provide a blueprint for researchers seeking to enhance the ecological validity of their own research in a narrow sense (i.e., by using the relief registry method we introduce) and in broader terms by adapting methods that take advantage of modern technology to directly impact others’ lives outside the lab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendan Bo O’Connor
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Karen Lee
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Dylan Campbell
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, United States of America
| | - Liane Young
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Pavarini G, McMillan R, Robinson A, Singh I. Design Bioethics: A Theoretical Framework and Argument for Innovation in Bioethics Research. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2021; 21:37-50. [PMID: 33502959 PMCID: PMC8676709 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2020.1863508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Empirical research in bioethics has developed rapidly over the past decade, but has largely eschewed the use of technology-driven methodologies. We propose "design bioethics" as an area of conjoined theoretical and methodological innovation in the field, working across bioethics, health sciences and human-centred technological design. We demonstrate the potential of digital tools, particularly purpose-built digital games, to align with theoretical frameworks in bioethics for empirical research, integrating context, narrative and embodiment in moral decision-making. Purpose-built digital tools can engender situated engagement with bioethical questions; can achieve such engagement at scale; and can access groups traditionally under-represented in bioethics research and theory. If developed and used with appropriate rigor, tools motivated by "design bioethics" could offer unique insights into new and familiar normative and empirical issues in the field.
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Binding moral values gain importance in the presence of close others. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2718. [PMID: 33976160 PMCID: PMC8113481 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22566-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
A key function of morality is to regulate social behavior. Research suggests moral values may be divided into two types: binding values, which govern behavior in groups, and individualizing values, which promote personal rights and freedoms. Because people tend to mentally activate concepts in situations in which they may prove useful, the importance they afford moral values may vary according to whom they are with in the moment. In particular, because binding values help regulate communal behavior, people may afford these values more importance when in the presence of close (versus distant) others. Five studies test and support this hypothesis. First, we use a custom smartphone application to repeatedly record participants' (n = 1166) current social context and the importance they afforded moral values. Results show people rate moral values as more important when in the presence of close others, and this effect is stronger for binding than individualizing values-an effect that replicates in a large preregistered online sample (n = 2016). A lab study (n = 390) and two preregistered online experiments (n = 580 and n = 752) provide convergent evidence that people afford binding, but not individualizing, values more importance when in the real or imagined presence of close others. Our results suggest people selectively activate different moral values according to the demands of the situation, and show how the mere presence of others can affect moral thinking.
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7
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Jayawickreme E, Infurna FJ, Alajak K, Blackie LE, Chopik WJ, Chung JM, Dorfman A, Fleeson W, Forgeard MJ, Frazier P, Furr RM, Grossmann I, Heller A, Laceulle OM, Lucas RE, Luhmann M, Luong G, Meijer L, McLean KC, Park CL, Roepke AM, al Sawaf Z, Tennen H, White RMB, Zonneveld R. Post-traumatic growth as positive personality change: Challenges, opportunities, and recommendations. J Pers 2021; 89:145-165. [PMID: 32897574 PMCID: PMC8062071 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Post-traumatic growth typically refers to enduring positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity, trauma, or highly challenging life circumstances. Critics have challenged insights from much of the prior research on this topic, pinpointing its significant methodological limitations. In response to these critiques, we propose that post-traumatic growth can be more accurately captured in terms of personality change-an approach that affords a more rigorous examination of the phenomenon. METHOD We outline a set of conceptual and methodological questions and considerations for future work on the topic of post-traumatic growth. RESULTS We provide a series of recommendations for researchers from across the disciplines of clinical/counseling, developmental, health, personality, and social psychology and beyond, who are interested in improving the quality of research examining resilience and growth in the context of adversity. CONCLUSION We are hopeful that these recommendations will pave the way for a more accurate understanding of the ubiquity, durability, and causal processes underlying post-traumatic growth.
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8
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Best practices for Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) research: A practical guide to coding and processing EAR data. Behav Res Methods 2021; 52:1538-1551. [PMID: 31898289 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-019-01333-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Since its introduction in 2001, the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) method has become an established and broadly used tool for the naturalistic observation of daily social behavior in clinical, health, personality, and social science research. Previous treatments of the method have focused primarily on its measurement approach (relative to other ecological assessment methods), research design considerations (e.g., sampling schemes, privacy considerations), and the properties of its data (i.e., reliability, validity, and added measurement value). However, the evolved procedures and practices related to arguably one of the most critical parts of EAR research-the coding process that converts the sampled raw ambient sounds into quantitative behavioral data for statistical analysis-so far have largely been communicated informally between EAR researchers. This article documents "best practices" for processing EAR data, which have been tested and refined in our research over the years. Our aim is to provide practical information on important topics such as the development of a coding system, the training and supervision of EAR coders, EAR data preparation and database optimization, the troubleshooting of common coding challenges, and coding considerations specific to diverse populations.
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9
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Abstract
What is judged as morally right and wrong in war? I argue that despite many decades of research on moral psychology and the psychology of intergroup conflict, social psychology does not yet have a good answer to this question. However, it is a question of great importance because its answer has implications for decision-making in war, public policy, and international law. I therefore suggest a new way for psychology researchers to study the morality of war that combines the strengths of philosophical just-war theory with experimental techniques and theories developed for the psychological study of morality more generally. This novel approach has already begun to elucidate the moral judgments third-party observers make in war, and I demonstrate that these early findings have important implications for moral psychology, just-war theory, and the understanding of the morality of war.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanne M Watkins
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst
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10
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Sounds of Healthy Aging: Assessing Everyday Social and Cognitive Activity from Ecologically Sampled Ambient Audio Data. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON AGING 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-32053-9_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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11
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Abstract
I respond to the Behavioral and Brain Sciences commentaries on my book, Talking to Our Selves: Reflection, Ignorance, and Agency. I defend and amend both the skeptical challenge to morally responsible agency, that is, the book's impetus, and the anti-skeptical theory I develop to address that challenge. Regarding the skeptical challenge, I argue that it must be taken more seriously than some of my sanguine commentators assert, and consider some ways its impact might be blunted, such as by appeal to individual differences and the practical efficacy of human behavior. Regarding my positive theory, I defend the role of values in morally responsible agency against numerous criticisms, and consider various suggestions for elaborating my social, "collaborativist" account of morally responsible agency. In closing, I comment on the appropriate aspirations for theorizing about moral responsibility and agency.
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13
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Kaplan DM, Raison CL, Milek A, Tackman AM, Pace TWW, Mehl MR. Dispositional mindfulness in daily life: A naturalistic observation study. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206029. [PMID: 30485267 PMCID: PMC6261408 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2017] [Accepted: 10/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Mindfulness has seen an extraordinary rise as a scientific construct, yet surprisingly little is known about how it manifests behaviorally in daily life. The present study identifies assumptions regarding how mindfulness relates to behavior and contrasts them against actual behavioral manifestations of trait mindfulness in daily life. Study 1 (N = 427) shows that mindfulness is assumed to relate to emotional positivity, quality social interactions, prosocial orientation and attention to sensory perceptions. In Study 2, 185 participants completed a gold-standard, self-reported mindfulness measure (the FFMQ) and underwent naturalistic observation sampling to assess their daily behaviors. Trait mindfulness was robustly related to a heightened perceptual focus in conversations. However, it was not related to behavioral and speech markers of emotional positivity, quality social interactions, or prosocial orientation. These findings suggest that the subjective and self-reported experience of being mindful in daily life is expressed primarily through sharpened perceptual attention, rather than through other behavioral or social differences. This highlights the need for ecological models of how dispositional mindfulness "works" in daily life, and raises questions about the measurement of mindfulness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deanna M. Kaplan
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Charles L. Raison
- School of Human Ecology and School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Anne Milek
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Allison M. Tackman
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Thaddeus W. W. Pace
- College of Nursing, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Matthias R. Mehl
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
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Demiray B, Mehl MR, Martin M. Conversational Time Travel: Evidence of a Retrospective Bias in Real Life Conversations. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2160. [PMID: 30483183 PMCID: PMC6243041 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined mental time travel reflected onto individuals' utterances in real-life conversations using a naturalistic observation method: Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR, a portable audio recorder that periodically and unobtrusively records snippets of ambient sounds and speech). We introduced the term conversational time travel and examined, for the first time, how much individuals talked about their personal past versus personal future in real life. Study 1 included 9,010 sound files collected from 51 American adults who carried the EAR over 1 weekend and were recorded every 9 min for 50 s. Study 2 included 23,103 sound files from 33 young and 48 healthy older adults from Switzerland who carried the EAR for 4 days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend, counterbalanced). 30-s recordings occurred randomly throughout the day. We developed a new coding scheme for conversational time travel: We listened to all sound files and coded each file for whether the participant was talking or not. Those sound files that included participant speech were also coded in terms of their temporal focus (e.g., past, future, present, time-independent) and autobiographical nature (i.e., about the self, about others). We, first, validated our coding scheme using the text analysis tool, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. Next, we compared the percentages of past- and future-oriented utterances about the self (to tap onto conversational time travel). Results were consistent across all samples and showed that participants talked about their personal past two to three times as much as their personal future (i.e., retrospective bias). This is in contrast to research showing a prospective bias in thinking behavior, based on self-report and experience-sampling methods. Findings are discussed in relation to the social functions of recalling the personal past (e.g., sharing memories to bond with others, to update each other, to teach, to give advice) and to the directive functions of future-oriented thought (e.g., planning, decision making, goal setting that are more likely to happen privately in the mind). In sum, the retrospective bias in conversational time travel seems to be a functional and universal phenomenon across persons and across real-life situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burcu Demiray
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Matthias R. Mehl
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Mike Martin
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Abstract
In this article, we present a pragmatic approach to neuroethics, referring back to John Dewey and his articulation of the "common good" and its discovery through systematic methods. Pragmatic neuroethics bridges philosophy and social sciences and, at a very basic level, considers that ethics is not dissociable from lived experiences and everyday moral choices. We reflect on the integration between empirical methods and normative questions, using as our platform recent bioethical and neuropsychological research into moral cognition, action, and experience. Finally, we present the protocol of a study concerning teenagers' morality in everyday life, discussing our epistemological choices as an example of a pragmatic approach in empirical ethics. We hope that this article conveys that even though the scope of neuroethics is broad, it is important not to move too far from the real life encounters that give rise to moral questions in the first place.
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Hill PL, Allemand M, Burrow AL. Considering multiple methods for differentiating conceptually close constructs: Examples from the field of positive psychology. SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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17
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Blackie LE, Jayawickreme E, Tsukayama E, Forgeard MJ, Roepke AM, Fleeson W. Post-traumatic growth as positive personality change: Developing a measure to assess within-person variability. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2016.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Mehl MR. The Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR): A Method for the Naturalistic Observation of Daily Social Behavior. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2017; 26:184-190. [PMID: 28529411 DOI: 10.1177/0963721416680611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This article reviews the Electronically Activated Recorder or EAR as an ambulatory ecological momentary assessment tool for the real-world observation of daily behavior. Technically, the EAR is an audio recorder that intermittently records snippets of ambient sounds while participants go about their lives. Conceptually, it is a naturalistic observation method that yields an acoustic log of a person's day as it unfolds. The power of the EAR lies in unobtrusively collecting authentic real-life observational data. In preserving a high degree of naturalism at the level of the raw recordings, it resembles ethnographic methods; through its sampling and coding, it enables larger empirical studies. The article provides an overview of the EAR method, reviews its validity, utility, and limitations, and discusses it in the context of current developments in ambulatory assessment, specifically the emerging field of mobile sensing.
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Toward a Research Agenda: Building Character Strengths in School Settings. J Youth Adolesc 2017; 46:1238-1239. [PMID: 28337583 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-017-0657-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/04/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Character strengths matter for long term success, and a growing body of evidence suggests that schools can be powerful places, and teachers powerful agents, by which these strengths are developed in adolescence. The articles in this volume move the field forward in important ways, and lead to a clear research agenda focused on creating testable interventions to build school and classroom environments that will assist young people in growing and leveraging these critical strengths.
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Bollich KL, Hill PL, Harms PD, Jackson JJ. When Friends' and Society's Expectations Collide: A Longitudinal Study of Moral Decision-Making and Personality across College. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0146716. [PMID: 26751944 PMCID: PMC4709233 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Accepted: 12/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Early adulthood is a developmentally important time period, with many novel life events needing to be traversed for the first time. Despite this important transition period, few studies examine the development of moral decision-making processes during this critical life stage. In the present study, college students completed moral decision-making measures during their freshman and senior years of college. Results indicate that, across four years, moral decision-making demonstrates considerable rank-order stability as well as change, such that people become more likely to help a friend relative to following societal rules. To help understand the mechanisms driving changes in moral decision-making processes, we examined their joint development with personality traits, a known correlate that changes during early adulthood in the direction of greater maturity. We found little evidence that personality and moral decision-making developmental processes are related. In sum, findings indicate that while moral decision-making processes are relatively stable across a four-year period, changes do occur which are likely independent of developmental processes driving personality trait change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn L. Bollich
- Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Patrick L. Hill
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Peter D. Harms
- Department of Management, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Joshua J. Jackson
- Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
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