Introduction to moral psychology

  • A normative definition of morality
  • Utilitarianism
  • Consequentialism
  • Deontology

Defining and measuring morality

  • A descriptive definition of morality
  • Moral foundations theory
  • The theory of dyadic morality
  • The model of moral motives
  • Relationship regulation theory of morality
  • Circle of moral concern

Evolution of morality

  • Veneer theory vs. naturalistic theory
  • Bonobos vs. chimpanzees moral behavior
  • The “Beethoven error”
  • Kin selection and reciprocal altruism
  • Moral differences between humans and primates
  • Disadvantageous and advantageous inequity aversion

Moral development

  • Research with infants
    • Are infants capable of moral behavior and moral judgment? How so?
  • Kohlberg’s stage theory
  • Social domain theory

Conscious reasoning

  • The rationalist model of moral judgment
  • The trolley problem (switch and footbridge cases)
  • Greene et al. (2009) study
  • The doctrine of double effect
  • What moral principles do we reason with?
    • Both abstract moral principles and normative theories

Intuitionism

  • Moral dumbfounding
  • Motivated reasoning
  • The social intuitionist model

Character judgments

  • Todorev et al. (2008) study
  • Moral cognitive machinery
  • Person act dissociation

Blame and praise

  • The culpable control model
    • Components of personal control
  • The path model of blame
  • The side effect effect
  • Differences between blame and praise

Social dilemma games

  • Tragedy of the commons
  • How to play each game
    • Basic findings if given in lecture
  • Tit for tat
  • Altruistic punishment

Altruism

  • The missing wallet study
  • Egoistic and altruistic motivations of helping
  • Vonasch et al. (2018) study
  • Dana et al. (2005) study
  • Moral credentials/ moral licensing

Dishonesty

  • Disposition vs. situation
  • The disponsitional-situational interaction hypothesis
  • Dispositional influences of dishonesty
    • Differences between psychopathy, narcissim, and Machiavellianism
  • Situational influences of dishonesty
    • Gino et al. (2009) study