2100 psych exam 4

moral judgement

refers to judgements about what we consider to be right or wrong.

moral psychology

a branch of social psychology that focuses on how people actually make moral judgements, which is often guided by feeling.

Lawrence Coldberg

tried to develop reasoning as part of development

Jonathan Haiet

said that we don’t rationalize. he thinks that there is an instant emotional response to a behavior. After we have this reaction, we try to rationalize why it’s right or wrong.

5 foundations of moral judgement according to Haiet

1) care or harm: influenced by the emotion of sympathy and watching others suffer. We judge something morally wrong if someone has to suffer.

2) fairness and reciprocity: triggered by unfair acts associated with anger.

3) In-group loyalty: When group members are loyal, we feel positive, and when they go against us, we feel betrayed.

4) Authority and respect: the idea that we need to honor our place in the structure of the group. associated with shame and embarrassment.

5) purity/ sanctity: motivated by disgust. 

morally dumbfounded

when you can’t come up with a reason as to why something is wrong.

trolley dilemma

participants imagine a runaway trolley headed for 5 people who will be killed, and the only way to save them is to hit a switch that will turn the trolley onto another set of tracks and kill one person.

When people are faced with the one-person scenario, the emotional part of the brain becomes activated. 

The rational part of the brain is activated when it isn’t a personal dilemma.

altruism

prosocial behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for oneself

personal distress

a motive for helping people in distress that may arise from a need to reduce your own distress.

empathetic concern

identifying with someone in need, including feeling and understanding what that person is experiencing, accompanied by the intention to help the person.

social reward

a benefit, such as praise, positive attention, something tangible, or gratitude, that may be gained from helping others, thus serving as a motive for altruistic behavior.

volunteer

assistance a person regularly provides to another person or group with no expectation of compensation.

3 reasons as to why altruism evolved

1) Children are altruistic

2) Chimps and bonobos are altruistic. 

3) The nervous system is wired with altruism

bystander intervention

each person feels someone else will help

diffusion of responsibility

reduction in the sense that something is your responsibility.

number of people increases, the percentage of people helping decreases.

pluralistic ignorance

occurs when people are unsure about what’s happening and assume that nothing is wrong because no one else is responding.

pluralistic ignorance study

have participants come to a room to complete a test. Some do the test alone, some do the test with a participant and a confederate and some do the test with 2 confederates. While taking the test, smoke is blown under the door. The Confederates didn't get up, so neither did the participant.

kin selection

the idea that you are more likely to help people who have your DNA.

cooperation

 is essential to human functioning; however, individuals must balance the desire to cooperate with the desire not to be taken advantage of.

reciprocal altruism

helping others with the expectation that they’ll probably return the favor in the future

the prisoner’s dilemma

game involves 2 people that have to decide whether to cooperate or defect. Consider the story of 2 prisoners who have to choose between sticking to their story or betraying their partner, without knowing what their partner will do.

if they both cooperate, both win. if they both defect, both lose. But if one defects while the other cooperates, one wins and the other loses.

situational determinants of cooperation

1) being face-to-face

2) A person laughs warmly, you are more likely to cooperate

3) if they have a trustworthy face

4) If someone smiles at you

reputation

the collective beliefs, evaluations, and impressions people hold about an individual within social networks.

gossiping

a communicative act in which one person comments on the reputation of another who is not present.

tit for tat strategy

a strategy in which the player’s first move is cooperative. The player mimics the other person’s behavior, whether cooperative or competitive. It’s cooperative and encourages mutually supportive action toward a shared goal. not exploiting anyone. it’s forgiving and easy to read