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Nursing & Health Sciences Sep 2021Moral courage and understanding of its meaning are essential when nurses face ethical conflicts in their practice. This integrative review aimed to explore moral courage... (Review)
Review
Moral courage and understanding of its meaning are essential when nurses face ethical conflicts in their practice. This integrative review aimed to explore moral courage in nursing and possible associated individual and organizational factors. A database search in January 2020 identified 1308 scientific articles of which 25 were selected for the review. Inductive analysis with clear steps for defining and synthesizing themes in research reviews revealed three categories concerning moral courage in nursing: definition and descriptions of moral courage, characteristics of the morally courageous nurse, and skills and acts of the morally courageous nurse. Individual and organizational factors, such as positive personal experiences, commitment to ethical principles, supportive work environment and teamwork, were associated with moral courage in nursing, contributing to a more comprehensive description of nurses' moral courage. Findings indicate that in nursing practice, there is a need for promoting multi-professional collaboration and discussion of ethical dilemmas to provide opportunities to enhance moral courage. Developing care environments in which hierarchy does not inhibit nurses' moral courage seems justified. Further research on moral courage with varying methodologies and multi-disciplinary and international approaches is needed.
Topics: Courage; Ethics, Nursing; Humans; Morals; Nurses; Resilience, Psychological
PubMed: 33389792
DOI: 10.1111/nhs.12805 -
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Aug 2022
Topics: Attitude of Health Personnel; Humans; Morals; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 35900038
DOI: 10.1177/01410768221115275 -
The Angle Orthodontist Nov 2023
Topics: Ethical Relativism; Morals
PubMed: 37922390
DOI: 10.2319/050423-324.1 -
Scientific Reports May 2023The study of moral judgement and decision making examines the way predictions made by moral and ethical theories fare in real world settings. Such investigations are...
The study of moral judgement and decision making examines the way predictions made by moral and ethical theories fare in real world settings. Such investigations are carried out using a variety of approaches and methods, such as experiments, modeling, and observational and field studies, in a variety of populations. The current Collection on moral judgments and decision making includes works that represent this variety, while focusing on some common themes, including group morality and the role of affect in moral judgment. The Collection also includes a significant number of studies that made theoretically driven predictions and failed to find support for them. We highlight the importance of such null-results papers, especially in fields that are traditionally governed by theoretical frameworks.
Topics: Negative Results; Judgment; Morals; Decision Making
PubMed: 37169894
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34899-x -
Annual Review of Psychology Jan 2024Nearly five billion people around the world now use social media, and this number continues to grow. One of the primary goals of social media platforms is to capture and... (Review)
Review
Nearly five billion people around the world now use social media, and this number continues to grow. One of the primary goals of social media platforms is to capture and monetize human attention. One means by which individuals and groups can capture attention and drive engagement on these platforms is by sharing morally and emotionally evocative content. We review a growing body of research on the interrelationship of social media and morality as well its consequences for individuals and society. Moral content often goes viral on social media, and social media makes moral behavior (such as punishment) less costly. Thus, social media often acts as an accelerant for existing moral dynamics, amplifying outrage, status seeking, and intergroup conflict while also potentially amplifying more constructive facets of morality, such as social support, prosociality, and collective action. We discuss trends, heated debates, and future directions in this emerging literature.
Topics: Humans; Social Media; Morals; Punishment; Social Support
PubMed: 37906950
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-022123-110258 -
Nursing Ethics Mar 2021Nurses find themselves in a unique position - between patient and physicians, and in close proximity to the patient. Moral sensitivity can help nurses to cope with the...
Nurses find themselves in a unique position - between patient and physicians, and in close proximity to the patient. Moral sensitivity can help nurses to cope with the daily turmoil of demands and opinions while delivering care in concordance with the value system of the patient. This article aims to reconsider the concept of moral sensitivity by discussing the function of emotions in morality. We turn to the ideas of historic and contemporary authors on the function of emotions in morality to expand our understanding of moral sensitivity. Ancient philosophers and contemporary psychologists uphold different strategies on the orientation of morality being (a) personal growth or (b) community living, and the primordial function of (c) reason and (d) emotions in the creation of judgements about good and bad. The theoretical discussion on the function of emotions in morality shows that by focusing on reason alone, one leaves out an essential part of morality. The concept of moral sensitivity should (1) include an initial judgment of good and bad based on emotions, (2) hold the ability to reflect on the initial judgement and the associated emotions, (3) include the ability to understand other stakeholders' perspectives based on the ideal-types and (4) include a personal decision on the right course of action.
Topics: Emotions; Humans; Judgment; Morals
PubMed: 32787609
DOI: 10.1177/0969733020930407 -
BMC Medical Ethics Mar 2023Given that biases can distort bioethics work, it has received surprisingly little and fragmented attention compared to in other fields of research. This article provides... (Review)
Review
Given that biases can distort bioethics work, it has received surprisingly little and fragmented attention compared to in other fields of research. This article provides an overview of potentially relevant biases in bioethics, such as cognitive biases, affective biases, imperatives, and moral biases. Special attention is given to moral biases, which are discussed in terms of (1) Framings, (2) Moral theory bias, (3) Analysis bias, (4) Argumentation bias, and (5) Decision bias. While the overview is not exhaustive and the taxonomy by no means is absolute, it provides initial guidance with respect to assessing the relevance of various biases for specific kinds of bioethics work. One reason why we should identify and address biases in bioethics is that it can help us assess and improve the quality of bioethics work.
Topics: Humans; Bias; Bioethics; Ethical Theory; Morals
PubMed: 36879251
DOI: 10.1186/s12910-023-00894-0 -
Scientific Reports Dec 2022We investigate the effect of moral suasion on charitable giving. Participants in an online experiment choose between two allocations, one of which includes a donation to...
We investigate the effect of moral suasion on charitable giving. Participants in an online experiment choose between two allocations, one of which includes a donation to a well-known charity organization. Before making this choice, they receive one of several messages potentially involving a moral argument from another participant. We find that the use of consequentialist and deontological arguments has a positive impact on the donation rate. Men respond strongly to consequentialist arguments, while women are less responsive to moral suasion altogether. Messages based on virtue ethics, ethical egoism, and a simple donation imperative are ineffective.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; Morals; Ethical Theory; Virtues; Charities
PubMed: 36456617
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24944-6 -
Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics Jun 2022The ongoing debate about moral bioenhancement (MBE) has been exceptionally stimulating, but it is defined by extreme polarization and lack of consensus about any... (Review)
Review
The ongoing debate about moral bioenhancement (MBE) has been exceptionally stimulating, but it is defined by extreme polarization and lack of consensus about any relevant aspect of MBE. This article reviews the discussion on MBE, showing that a lack of consensus about enhancements' desirable features and the constant development of the debate calls for a more rigorous ethical analysis. I identify a list of factors that may be of crucial importance for illuminating the matters of moral permissibility in the MBE debate and which could help us move beyond the current lack of consensus. More precisely, I propose three important theoretical and normative standards that MBE should satisfy if we wish to mitigate the concerns about its utter impermissibility. Systematically assessing MBE interventions across the presented categories should provide valuable conclusions about its theoretical soundness and feasibility, its compatibility with fundamental moral norms, and its compatibility with or facilitation of socio-political goals of equality and justice.
Topics: Biomedical Enhancement; Ethical Analysis; Humans; Morals
PubMed: 35871717
DOI: 10.1007/s11017-022-09584-1 -
Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics Apr 2023It is argued that the emergence of controversial views in discussions of theoretical medicine and bioethics is best explained by the assumption of moral realism within...
It is argued that the emergence of controversial views in discussions of theoretical medicine and bioethics is best explained by the assumption of moral realism within those discursive practices. Neither of the main alternatives of realism in contemporary meta-ethics - moral expressivism and anti-realism - can account for the rise of controversies in the bioethical debate. This argument draws from the contemporary expressivist or anti-representationalist pragmatism as advanced by Richard Rorty and Huw Price, as well as the pragmatist scientific realism and fallibilism of the founder of pragmatism, Charles S. Peirce. In accordance with the fallibilist view, it is proposed that presenting controversial positions may serve epistemic purposes within bioethical debates, providing opportunities for inquiry by pointing towards problems to be solved and arguments and evidence for and against to be put forward.
Topics: Humans; Morals; Bioethics; Dissent and Disputes
PubMed: 36867309
DOI: 10.1007/s11017-023-09616-4