Location
DePauw Libraries, Roy O. West Library Wood Study
Event Website
https://depauw.campuslabs.com/engage/event/9085478
Start Date
3-5-2023 1:00 PM
End Date
3-5-2023 1:10 PM
Presentation Type
Thesis
Description
The field of moral psychology studies how people make decisions about right and wrong. These moral decisions can be based on a number of different moral considerations in the dilemma. The present study looks at the moral considerations of college students in the U.S when faced with a moral dilemma. We surveyed U.S. college students in February 2023 by presenting them with a moral dilemma they might come across during their college years and asking what they would do in the situation and why. This study developed the Moral Dilemmas Questionnaire to test the moral reasoning of college students. The Moral Dilemmas Questionnaire is made of ten moral dilemmas relevant to college students and asks them what they would do. Then, it offers participants the opportunity to explain why they chose a certain decision for researchers to discern the moral values and considerations used in the moral reasoning. Our results found that college students most frequently consider the consequences of their moral actions, followed by their intentions and personal motivations in the moral dilemma. This suggests that a U.S. college student's moral framework emphasizes the consequences and intentions and motivations in a moral situation. We present the results of all ten questions from the Moral Dilemmas Questionnaire, showing which moral dimensions college students considered for each question. These findings contribute to the moral psychology literature as information on how a particular population reasons through moral situations as well as a methodology that could be used for similar studies with other populations. With a better understanding of how different groups rely on different moral considerations, we can understand more clearly the root of conflict in moral decisions and better understand other perspectives.
Included in
Morality and Me: An Investigation of a Moral Framework for College Students
DePauw Libraries, Roy O. West Library Wood Study
The field of moral psychology studies how people make decisions about right and wrong. These moral decisions can be based on a number of different moral considerations in the dilemma. The present study looks at the moral considerations of college students in the U.S when faced with a moral dilemma. We surveyed U.S. college students in February 2023 by presenting them with a moral dilemma they might come across during their college years and asking what they would do in the situation and why. This study developed the Moral Dilemmas Questionnaire to test the moral reasoning of college students. The Moral Dilemmas Questionnaire is made of ten moral dilemmas relevant to college students and asks them what they would do. Then, it offers participants the opportunity to explain why they chose a certain decision for researchers to discern the moral values and considerations used in the moral reasoning. Our results found that college students most frequently consider the consequences of their moral actions, followed by their intentions and personal motivations in the moral dilemma. This suggests that a U.S. college student's moral framework emphasizes the consequences and intentions and motivations in a moral situation. We present the results of all ten questions from the Moral Dilemmas Questionnaire, showing which moral dimensions college students considered for each question. These findings contribute to the moral psychology literature as information on how a particular population reasons through moral situations as well as a methodology that could be used for similar studies with other populations. With a better understanding of how different groups rely on different moral considerations, we can understand more clearly the root of conflict in moral decisions and better understand other perspectives.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/library_symposium/2023/2023/2
Comments
Prepared as part of DePauw University's Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Senior Thesis Class of 2023 with Professor Ted Bitner