woman climbing a ladder

Ethical development, also known as moral development, focuses on the emergence, change, and understanding of morality from early childhood through adulthood. Morality is cultivated over a lifetime. An individual’s experiences impact their ethical development and how they act when facing moral problems. 

Examples

Work in Progress with Christopher Michaelson, Episode 2

The Social Dilemma Documentary Review Work in Progress with Christopher Michaelson, discusses every working person’s work in progress, namely, our…

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Work in Progress with Christopher Michaelson, Episode 1

Machines Like Me Book Review Work in Progress with Christopher Michaelson discusses every working person’s work in progress, namely, our…

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Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics

An Ethical Systems Book Review Summarized by JAI MALIK Written by Richard Thaler [public library] Summary: What do economics, psychology, and experimental science…

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Psychology Of Fraud: Why Good People Do Bad Things

National Public Radio examines how good people can act unethically, using a small business example. Over the past decade or…

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Exercise your ethics

One way to develop your ethical "muscles" is to exercise them. Using an ethics work-out gives you a routine to…

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Let ethics guide your decisions

Childhood lessons can help you make the most ethical decisions as an adult. Q: I need to write a report…

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Practical Guidance

Obedience to Authority

Obedience to authority describes our tendency to please authority figures. We may place too much emphasis on that goal and, consciously or subconsciously, subordinate the goal of acting ethically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk4uqMj1nBk

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Moral Myopia

Moral myopia is a distortion of moral vision that keeps ethical issues from coming clearly into focus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTbZ-3DS0Jo

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Moral Muteness

Moral muteness is when we communicate in ways that obscure our moral beliefs and commitments, or don’t voice moral sentiments at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ8MfxyP2iA

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Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort that we feel when our minds entertain two contradictory concepts at the same time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_lCO2cBNts

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All is not Relative

Relativism is the belief that a harmful act is ‘right’ if the perpetrator claims it is ‘right,’ but what is right and what is wrong is not always relative. This video from the McCombs School of business at the University of Texas examines the applications and limitations of relativism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11v2nWsgGA video-responsive-container

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Cheating in College: Why Students Do It and What Educators Can Do About It

An Ethical Systems Book Review BY JARED WOLF Cheating in College: Why Students Do It and What Educators Can Do About It by: Donald L. McCabe, Kenneth D. Butterfield, and Linda K. Treviño John Hopkins University Press (2012) Public Library Summarized by Jared Wolf From one-room elementary schoolhouses to several hundred-person college lecture halls, students have sought loopholes and shortcuts as long as there have been buildings in which to teach them. The system that reinforces these pervasive incidents and opportunities for dishonesty is brought to bear in the new book Cheating in College: Why Students Do It and What Educators Can Do About It,…

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Cheating & Honesty

ETHICAL SYSTEMS Jacob van Oost, “Card-Sharpers.” Note the man on the right, signaling to the man in the foreground, who has two extra cards behind his back. Cheating, misconduct, deception and other forms of unethical behavior are widespread today, not just in business but in sports, government, schools, and many other arenas. While the media often focuses on extreme cases of cheating and sensational scams (such as Madoff’s ponzi scheme)­­­, less attention is paid to what researchers call “ordinary unethical behavior.” For example: not reporting income on one’s taxes, buying clothing with the intention of wearing it once and returning it, stealing from…

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Book Review: The Self-Evolved Leader

“The Self-Evolved Leader was written to take you on a journey, from making the critical shift in perspective needed to break the cycle of mediocre leadership, to building a foundation for effective leadership, strengthening the disciplines you need to deliver great leadership, and ending with a plan for mastering and sustaining leadership” (McKeown, 2020, p. 10). In The Self-Evolved Leader, McKeown contends that for too long leaders have mistakenly assumed that the value they bring to their organization is to play the role of the hero, someone has all the answers and swoops in to save the day. However, as…

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What it takes to be a great leader

The world is full of leadership programs, but the best way to learn how to lead might be right under your nose. In this clear, candid talk, Roselinde Torres describes 25 years observing truly great leaders at work, and shares the three simple but crucial questions would-be company chiefs need to ask to thrive in the future. https://www.ted.com/talks/roselinde_torres_what_it_takes_to_be_a_great_leader#t-535563 This video is shared under a Creative Commons license (BY-NC-ND 4.0). Please visit Ted.com. This TED Talk was first presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with BCG in October 2013. TED editors featured it among our selections on the home page.

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Being your best self, part III: Moral intent

Moral intent is the desire to act ethically when facing a decision and overcome the rationalization to not be ethical “this time.”

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