Ethics 390 1 Spring 2007 LDST 390/PSYC 449: Empirical Exploration of Ethics Spring 2007 Instructor Don Forsyth Office: 233 Jepson Hall Phone: 289-8461 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: MW AM and online Don completed his undergraduate studies at Florida State University and earned his Ph.D. in 1978. He has held teaching positions at Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Kansas, and the University of Richmond (Jepson School of Leadership Studies). He studies reactions to success and failure, individual difference in moral thought, applications of social psychology in educational and clinical settings, and group dynamics. He holds the Leo K. and Gaylee Thorsness Chair in Ethical Leadership. Class Tuesday/Thursday 2:15-3:30 Jepson 107 (and 24/7 on the Internet via Blackboard) Course description When will an act, a thought, or a motive be characterized as immoral rather than moral? As evil rather than good? As wrong rather than right? The course Empirical Exploration of Ethics, rather than offering prescriptive answers to these questions—for example, a good act is one that is consistent with the highest moral principles or an act is only altruistic if done sole for the purpose of benefiting others—takes an empirical approach to ethics and morality by exploring the personal and interpersonal factors that influence moral thought, action, emotion, and motivation. The analysis will, in all cases, rely on approaches that have been supported by empirical research relevant to the moral phenomena of interest. Course topics and goals We will restrict our analysis to moral phenomena that have been investigated empirically; that is, through the collection of data using scientifically acceptable procedures. We will examine such topics as: (a) the cognitive foundations of moral judgment, including cognitive-developmentalism (Kohlberg, 1983; Piaget, 1934), the cognitive algebra of information integration (Anderson, 1981), attributional approaches to social motivation and justice (Weiner, 2006), and social intuitionism (Haidt, 2001); (b) personological explanations of morality, including studies of personality (Hogan & Emler, 1995), values (Rokeach, 1973), virtues and strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), character (Lapsley & Power, 2005); and (c) biological and psychological explanations, such as evolutionary explanations (Wright, 1995) and psychodynamic views (Smith, 2004). We will, in keeping with the emphasis on the empirical tradition, examine ways to calibrate and assess moral thought and action. Beyond the content of the course, I hope that you use this course to develop further your already strong scholarly skills, including gains in critical thinking, ethical thought, writing and communication, information search and retrieval, technological skills, scientific skills, and study skills. You will may also develop enhanced insight into your own moral values and experiences, and these insights may help you better understand yourself and your relations with others. This is not, however, a course on moral philosophy and religion, or a self-development course: our focus is on studying, scientifically, moral phenomena.Ethics 390 2 Spring 2007 Teaching and learning methods This course will operate as a seminar, with all members participating in the discussion and analysis of each day’s topic. Members will contribute to the discussion through presentations of particular studies, commentaries on issues, discussions of one’s own scientific insights, and guided review of the text material. Topics will be drawn from selected readings, the primary texts, and a number of secondary texts. Discussions will provide you the opportunity to express your understanding in your own words, and to raise questions that you find personally interesting. In addition to discussion, we will also spend our classroom time in lecture, demonstrations, activities, and audiovisual events. All activities are designed to stimulate critical thinking. If you need addition information about a topic mentioned in the text, or you have a problem understanding a particular portion of the text, just ask. This class also uses World Wide Web-based instruction extensively. In some cases I will email additional materials to you, and if class must be cancelled I will hold the session on-line instead. Some discussions will occur on line as well, and so will office hours. Many of the activities, papers, quizzes, and supplemental readings will also take advantage of the WWW, primarily Blackboard and a wiki page. Textbook and readings Research suggests that students acquire as much as 50% of their learning in a course directly from the readings. The bulk of the readings will be empirical articles and chapters. We will, however, also read portions of several books, including Why we lie, by David Livingstone Smith (2004) Generation Me by Jean M. Twenge (2006). Habits of the Heart by Robert N. Bellah et al. (1985). The reading load for this class will be fairly heavy, both in terms of quantity and in terms of level. Activities and assignments Many, many assignments will be given through the semester, such as readings, writing reaction papers, reading and identifying weaknesses in an article, interviewing people about some class-relevant issue, conducting informal surveys, and so on. Many of these activities will involve substantial amounts of writing, including formal critiques of articles, cogent summaries of published studies, and brief reaction papers. The word "avalanche" aptly describes the density of these experiences. Occasionally the class will also undertake more unusual activities as they become available. You will be expected to take part in nonclass learning activities, such as the Jepson Forums. This course will also require a major paper, with portions due throughout the course of the semester. Feedback about progress Your progress toward the goals of the class will be checked through quizzing and testing. Quizzes will usually be administered using the Blackboard, but occasionally in class. In-class quizzes will be closed-book, but Blackboard quizzes will be open-book. We will also have 2 examinations. All tests and quizzes will be announced, in advance, through e-mail. Naturally, items on the tests will cover all course material, no matter what its source (e.g., lecture, text, or film). The final examination will include some cumulative