Moral reasoning and judgment in childhood. Relations to mind understanding and peer acceptance

Abstract de póster presentado a First meeting of the SEJyD (Society for the Advancement of Judgment and Decision Making Studies)Children’s moral reasoning on compliance and rules violation, and their moral judgments, are linked to the development of their “theory of mind”. Greater ability to attribute mental states (intentions, knowledge and emotions) enable to base the attribution of responsibility, and judgment on the degree of punishment deserved, not only on the outcome of the action (harmful or not), but also on the intent to cause damage. This effect could vary depending on whether: a) the rule transgressed is a social conventional rule or a moral rule, b) the damage is physical-material or psychological-emotional. Moreover, understanding of other minds and moral reasoning that children make about the actions of others appears to be a key element in their degree of popularity and social impact. The aim of this study is to evaluate the developmental relationship between child moral reasoning, understanding of other minds and degree of acceptance by their peers. Participants were 89 children from 4 to 13 years; they were administered: a battery of stories that assessed moral reasoning abilities, a battery of “theory of mind” tasks, peer-nomination inventory. Results show that by 6 years of age begin differences in mind understanding and moral reasoning and judgment among children of the same age: popular and average distinguish between accidental and deliberate transgression (although up to 8 years all children believe that both deserve to be punished); only rejected children consider that the transgression of conventional norms does not deserve punishment; their moral judgments are not different for physical damage than for psychological-emotional damage. By age 8 differences between popular and rejected children in their mind understanding ability and moral reasoning are increased, especially in situations of accidental damage. Children’s moral reasoning ability may have important implications for their social relationships and positive peer interactions.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Feel good, do-good!? On consistency and compensation in moral self-regulation

Studies in the behavioral ethics and moral psychology traditions have begun to reveal the important roles of self-related processes that underlie moral behavior. Unfortunately, this research has resulted in two distinct and opposing streams of findings that are usually referred to as moral consistency and moral compensation. Moral consistency research shows that a salient self-concept as a moral person promotes moral behavior. Conversely, moral compensation research reveals that a salient self-concept as an immoral person promotes moral behavior. The present study’s aim was to integrate these two literatures. We argued that compensation forms a reactive, “damage control” response in social situations, whereas consistency derives from a more proactive approach to reputation building and maintenance. Two experiments supported this prediction in showing that cognitive depletion (i.e., resulting in a reactive approach) results in moral compensation whereas consistency results when cognitive resources are available (i.e., resulting in a proactive approach). Experiment 2 revealed that these processes originate from reputational (rather than moral) considerations by showing that they emerge only under conditions of accountability. It can thus be concluded that reputational concerns are important for both moral compensation and moral consistency processes, and that which of these two prevails depends on the perspective that people take: a reactive or a proactive approach

Damage to the prefrontal cortex increases utilitarian moral judgements

The psychological and neurobiological processes underlying moral judgement have been the focus of many recent empirical studies1–11. Of central interest is whether emotions play a causal role in moral judgement, and, in parallel, how emotion-related areas of the brain contribute to moral judgement. Here we show that six patients with focal bilateral damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPC), a brain region necessary for the normal generation of emotions and, in particular, social emotions12–14, produce an abnor- mally ‘utilitarian’ pattern of judgements on moral dilemmas that pit compelling considerations of aggregate welfare against highly emotionally aversive behaviours (for example, having to sacrifice one person’s life to save a number of other lives)7,8. In contrast, the VMPC patients’ judgements were normal in other classes of moral dilemmas. These findings indicate that, for a selective set of moral dilemmas, the VMPC is critical for normal judgements of right and wrong. The findings support a necessary role for emotion in the generation of those judgements

Критерії визначення розміру завданої моральної шкоди при її доказуванні в суді

Batozhska, O.V. and Pikhurets, E.V. (2015), “Criteria for determining the size of moral damage during its proving in the court” [“Kryterii vyznachennia rozmiru zavdanoi moralnoi shkody pry yii dokazuvanni v sudi”], Pravo i Bezpeka, No. 2, pp. 148–154.Батожська, О. В. Критерії визначення розміру завданої моральної шкоди при її доказуванні в суді / О. В. Батожська, О. В. Піхурець // Право і безпека. - 2015. - № 2 (57). - С. 148–154.Обґрунтовано актуальність дослідження відносин, що виникають унаслідок доказування факту та розміру завданої моральної шкоди у процесі розгляду справи в суді. Проаналізовано проблему відсутності у законодавстві чітких нормативно визначених методик чи розрахунків компенсації моральної (немайнової) шкоди, які б допомогли об’єктивно визначити її розмір та запобігти ситуаціям, коли суди призначають різні суми відшкодування у подібних ситуаціях або коли потерпілим присуджуються надто завищені та необґрунтовані суми моральної шкоди. Сформульовано проблематичні питання сучасної судової практики, пов’язані з визначенням достатнього та еквівалентного розміру компенсації завданої моральної шкоди. Здійснено аналіз національного законодавства, судової практики та доктринальних положень із цього питання.Actuality of the study of relations arising after proving the fact and size of moral damage within the trial is grounded. The authors have analyzed problem of the lack of clear regulatory methods in the legislation or calculations of compensation of moral (non-property) damage that would help to determine objectively its size and avoid situations when the courts appoint different amounts of compensation in similar situations or when victims are awarded too excessive and unreasonable sizes of moral damage. Problematic issues of modern judicial practices relating to the definition of equivalent and sufficient size of compensation for moral damage are formulated. The analysis of national legislation, judicial practice and doctrinal provisions on this issue is realized. Based on the existing methodology for assessing the size of compensation for mental suffering, the authors have attempted to develop a unified approach to establish the equivalent criteria of determining the size for moral damage while its proving in the court. In particular, the authors suggest to admit the method of calculating the compensation for moral damage offered by O. M. Erdelevskyi at the level of national legislation and implement it into law enforcement practice. Herewith it is noted that determining the actual size of moral damage or the depth of physical, mental suffering sometimes require special knowledge and explanations by the relevant expert or specialist in a particular area of expertise, so the court deciding on this category of cases should not change (increase or decrease) the claimed size of compensation for moral damage, but determine it based on relevant expert opinions, taking into account the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and other circumstances that are essential to the case.Обоснована актуальность исследования отношений, возникающих в результате доказывания факта и размера причинённого морального вреда в процессе рассмотрения дела в суде. Про- анализирована проблема отсутствия в законодательстве чётких нормативно определённых методик или расчётов компенсации морального (неимущественного) вреда, которые бы смог- ли помочь объективно определить его размер и предотвратить ситуации, когда суды присуждают разные суммы возмещения в аналогичных ситуациях, когда потерпевшим присуждаются слишком завышенные и необоснованные суммы морального вреда. Сформулированы проблемные вопросы современной судебной практики, связанные с определением достаточного и эквивалентного размера компенсации причинённого морального вреда. Осуществлён анализ национального законодательства, судебной практики и доктринальных положений по этому вопросу

Love in law’s shadow : political theory, moral psychology and young Hegel’s critique of punishment

Modern theory of punishment conflates two types of question. The first concerns the justification of state punishment, the second the moral damage that occurs when a person is violated, and how the resulting damage can be repaired. The first question leads to political theory and a particular legally based moral grammar of wrongdoing and punishment. The second goes in the direction of a different moral psychology involving a grammar of violation, grieving and reconciliation. Retrieving the young Hegel’s analysis takes us in the second direction. It provides a critical vantage point from which to view the dominant liberal political theory, including Hegel’s own mature position as a founder of retributive theory. The modern theory of state punishment is legitimated by its public association with a moral psychology of violation, which it at the same time suppresses in favour of its own very different moral grammar

Визначення розміру компенсації моральної шкоди працівнику

Лагутіна І. В. Визначення розміру компенсації моральної шкоди працівнику / І. В. Лагутіна // Актуальні проблеми політики зб. наук. пр. / редкол.: С. В. Ківалов (голов. ред.), Л. І. Кормич (заст. голов. ред.), М. А. Польовий (відп. секр.) [та ін.] ; НУ «ОЮА», Південноукр. центр гендер. проблем. – Одеса : Фенікс, 2014. – № 2. – С. 165-168.У статті досліджується сутність моральної шкоди з метою формулювання його поняття, а також правова дефініція компенсації моральної шкоди як способу захисту особистих немайнових трудових прав. Розглядаються основи й умов компенсації моральної шкоди як одного з найбільш дієвих способів захисту особистих немайнових прав.В статье исследуется сущность морального вреда с целью формулирования его понятия, а также правовая дефиниция компенсация морального вреда как способа защиты личных неимущественных трудових прав. Рассматриваются основания и условий компенсации морального вреда как одного из наиболее действенных способов защиты личных неимущественных прав.This article examines the nature of moral damage to formulate the concept and legal definition of compensation for moral damage as a a method to protect personal non-property labour right of an employee. Underlines that norms of labour law are now allow for the possibility of compensation for moral damage. In the article are considered grounds and conditions of moral damage as one of the most effective methods of protection personal non-property right

La fijacion del quantum de la indemnizacion pecuniaria del dano moral extracontractual en el ordenamiento juridico chileno

60 p.El daño moral es una de las materias más controvertidas del Derecho Civil, debido a la inexistencia de un concepto unánime, como también, por la escasa normativa sobre daño moral en nuestro Derecho Civil. En este sentido, la labor del juez se ve dificultada, en virtud de esta carencia; logrando desarrollar su tarea, a base de criterios de la jurisprudencia y de la regla de la sana crítica. La protección que otorga la constitución en su artículo 19, en los incisos1º y 4º, a los derechos fundamentales, se ve debilitada por la discrecionalidad que tiene el juez al fijar el quantum del daño moral extracontractual; a diferencia de la contundente cobertura que otorga el recurso de protección a dichas garantías./ ABSTRACT: The moral damage is one of the most controversial areas of Civil Law, due to the lack of a unanimous concept as well, due to poor regulations on moral damage to our civil law. In this sense, the judge's task is made difficult by virtue of this lack, being able to develop their work, based on criteria of jurisprudence and the rule of sound criticism. The protection afforded by the Constitution in Article Nº19, numbers 1 and 4, of the fundamental rights, is undermined by the discretion that the judge have to determinate the quantum of moral damage, as opposed to the overwhelming coverage afforded by the resource protection to such guarantee

Contracting Nitrogen Abatement in the Baltic Proper Watershed Under the Risk of Climate Change

Within the EU, it is agreed that watershed-based management of water quality problems is likely to be more economically efficient compared to existing institutional arrangements. Watershed authorities, assigned under the European Water Framework Directive, do however lack financial resources for policy implementation. EU funding for agri-environmental measures is mainly channeled through CAP via national governments to the farmers. In this paper, a mechanism for allocating international funds to watershed authorities is investigated assuming that there is a risk of moral hazard on behalf of the regional authority. The assumed purpose of the funding is to reduce nitrogen loads to the Baltic Proper, and the implications of uncertainty about the risk of climate change are investigated. Results shows that the risk premium associated with the presence of moral hazard can be high if there is a high likelihood of climate change and marginal damage is increasing rapidly in loads.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Hippocampal Damage Increases Deontological Responses during Moral Decision Making

Complex moral decision making is associated with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in humans, and damage to this region significantly increases the frequency of utilitarian judgments. Since the vmPFC has strong anatomical and functional links with the hippocampus, here we asked how patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage would derive moral decisions on a classic moral dilemmas paradigm. We found that the patients approved of the utilitarian options significantly less often than control participants, favoring instead deontological responses-rejecting actions that harm even one person. Thus, patients with hippocampal damage have a strikingly opposite approach to moral decision making than vmPFC-lesioned patients. Skin-conductance data collected during the task showed increased emotional arousal in the hippocampal-damaged patients and they stated that their moral decisions were based on emotional instinct. By contrast, control participants made moral decisions based on the integration of an adverse emotional response to harming others, visualization of the consequences of one's action, and the rational re-evaluation of future benefits. This integration may be disturbed in patients with either hippocampal or vmPFC damage. Hippocampal lesions decreased the ability to visualize a scenario and its future consequences, which seemed to render the adverse emotional response overwhelmingly dominant. In patients with vmPFC damage, visualization might also be reduced alongside an inability to detect the adverse emotional response, leaving only the utilitarian option open. Overall, these results provide insights into the processes involved in moral decision making and highlight the complementary roles played by two closely connected brain regions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is closely associated with the ability to make complex moral judgements. When this area is damaged, patients become more utilitarian (the ends justify the means) and have decreased emotional arousal during moral decision making. The vmPFC is closely connected with another brain region-the hippocampus. In this study we found that patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage show a strikingly opposite response pattern to those with vmPFC damage when making moral judgements. They rejected harmful actions of any kind (thus their responses were deontological) and showed increased emotional arousal. These results provide new insights into the processes involved in moral decision making and highlight the complementary roles played by two closely connected brain regions