Video Lecture Notes: Behavioral Ethics, Moral Responsibility, and Exam Prep

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, experiments, and criteria discussed in the ethics lecture.

Entitlement concept

Belief that long-standing good citizenship entitles one to leniency for a misstep, asserting the benefit of the doubt should be given.

Behavioral ethics

The study of how people actually react in ethical situations and the impediments to acting ethically.

Milgram experiment

A classic study on obedience to authority showing that ordinary people may follow harmful directives.

Princeton Divinity experiment

A Milgram-related study conducted with participants from Princeton Theological Seminary to explore obedience and moral judgment.

Stanford Prison Experiment

A notable study demonstrating how assigned roles of guards and prisoners can transform behavior and norms.

Asch conformity experiment

Experiments showing that group pressure can lead individuals to conform to incorrect judgments.

Trolley problem

A thought experiment used to analyze ethical decision-making when choosing between harming fewer or more people.

Implicit bias test

A test that measures unconscious associations that influence judgments and behavior.

Causality (moral responsibility)

Whether the actor caused the harm they are judged for.

Knowledge (moral responsibility)

Whether the actor knew what they were doing.

Freedom of will (moral responsibility)

Whether the actor acted of their own free will or was coerced.

Neutralization techniques

Psychological strategies used to rationalize or excuse unethical conduct and avoid guilt.

Rationalization

Justifying unethical actions to make them seem acceptable.

Empathy

The ability to understand and share another’s feelings; relevant to judging responsibility but not a sole determinant.

Moral development stage (following the law is the basis for moral analysis)

Stage 4; a level of moral reasoning where lawfulness and universal standards guide judgments.