Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:02:54.692Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On properly characterizing moral agency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2018

Blaine J. Fowers ,
Austen R. Anderson  and
Samantha F. Lang
Blaine J. Fowers
Affiliation:
Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124. bfowers@miami.eduaanders8@yahoo.comsamantha.lang718@gmail.comwww.blainefowers.com
Austen R. Anderson
Affiliation:
Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124. bfowers@miami.eduaanders8@yahoo.comsamantha.lang718@gmail.comwww.blainefowers.com
Samantha F. Lang
Affiliation:
Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124. bfowers@miami.eduaanders8@yahoo.comsamantha.lang718@gmail.comwww.blainefowers.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Doris (2015b) develops a theory of moral agency to avoid a skeptical challenge arising from psychology studies indicating that (im)moral behavior is caused by trivial situational factors. His theory is flawed in attending only to situational influences on behavior and neglecting individual differences such as moral identity and virtue. A focus on individual differences in resilience to influence from trivial situational factors defangs the skeptical challenge and offers a better account of moral agency.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e43
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aristotle (340 bce/1999). Nicomachean ethics, trans. Ostwald, M.. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (Original work published around 340 bce.)Google Scholar
Ayduk, O., Mendoza-Denton, R., Mischel, W., Downey, G., Peake, P. K. & Rodriguez, M. (2000). Regulating the interpersonal self: Strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79:776–92.Google Scholar
Blasi, A. (2005) Moral character: A psychological approach. In: Character psychology and character education, ed. Lapsley, D. K. & Clark, F. C., pp. 67–100. Notre Dame University Press.Google Scholar
Cameron, C. D., Payne, B. K. & Doris, J. M. (2013) Morality in high definition: Emotion differentiation calibrates the influence of incidental disgust on moral judgments. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 49(4):719–25. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.02.014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doris, J. M. (2002) Lack of character: Personality and moral behavior. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doris, J. M. (2015b). Talking to our selves: Reflection, ignorance, and agency. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kristjánsson, K. (2013) Virtues and vices in positive psychology: A philosophical critique. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lefevor, G. T. & Fowers, B. J. (2016) Traits, situational factors, and their interactions as explanations of helping behavior. Journal of Personality and Individual Differences 92:159–63. doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.042.Google Scholar
Lefevor, G. T., Fowers, B. J., Ahn, S., Lang, S. F. & Cohen, L. M. (2017) To what degree do situational influences explain spontaneous helping behaviour? A meta-analysis. European Review of Social Psychology 28:227–56. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2017.1367529.Google Scholar
Meindl, P., Jayawickreme, E., Furr, R. M. & Fleeson, W. (2013) A foundation beam for studying morality from a personological point of view: Are individual differences in moral behaviors and thoughts consistent? Journal of Research in Personality 59:81–92. doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2015.09.005.Google Scholar
Mischel, M., Ebbesen, E. B. & Zeiss, A. R. (1972) Cognitive and attentional mechanisms in delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 21:204–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pasek, J., Schneider, D., Krosnick, J. A., Tahk, A., Ophir, E. & Milligan, C. (2014) Prevalence and moderators of the candidate name-order effect evidence from statewide general elections in California. Public Opinion Quarterly 78(2):416–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar