Knowra Moral psychology Moral psychology Moral psychology studies the psychological processes involved in moral judgment, emotion, motivation, and behavior. It examines how people make moral evaluations and how those evaluations shape action.
Moral judgment : The evaluation of actions, people, or outcomes as morally right or wrong. It is the central process moral psychology investigates.
Ethics : The philosophical study of right and wrong, good and bad, and the principles guiding conduct. Ethics asks normative questions that moral psychology investigates descriptively.
Lawrence Kohlberg : An American psychologist known for a stage theory of moral development based on moral reasoning. His theory made changes in moral reasoning a central object of study.
Rationalism : The view that reason is a primary source of knowledge or a central guide to judgment. It contrasts with accounts that give moral intuition priority over conscious reasoning.
Moral responsibility : The status of an agent as answerable or blameworthy for an action or its consequences. Psychological evidence about control and intention informs judgments of responsibility.
Moral intuition : A rapid, often effortless evaluation that an action or situation is morally right or wrong. Intuitive responses can precede deliberate reasoning in moral judgment.
Cognitive science : The interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence, including their computational and neural bases. Moral psychology draws on methods and theories for explaining mental processes.
Carol Gilligan : An American psychologist and ethicist who criticized the male-centered framing of Kohlberg's moral development theory. Her critique broadened debate about care, gender, and moral development.
Sentimentalism : The view that moral judgments are grounded substantially in human sentiments or emotions. It offers a philosophical counterpart to psychological accounts of emotion-led judgment.
Blame : A negative moral judgment that attributes fault or responsibility for wrongdoing. Research examines how intention, outcome, and character shape blame.
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