The Importance of Moral Action by Bengt Daleflod
Moral values play a crucial role in our actions. Whether or not young people choose social solutions depends a lot on how they think and evaluate situations that have arisen. Many studies establish that there is a strong correlation between immature morality, antisocial behavior, and crime. Criminal and antisocial values are also a strong risk factor for a continued criminal career. Research also shows a strong correlation between immature morality and recidivism. Treatment programs for antisocial adolescents should include a moral component. Training in moral decision-making is an important component of ART and AART.
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg (1927 – 1987), was an American psychology professor. Kohlberg is best known for his theory of a gradual moral development that he believed people go through during their childhood. The theory was inspired by Jean Piaget’s studies of children’s cognitive development. According to Piaget and Kohlberg, children develop an increased maturity in terms of social perspective by interacting with other people. Kohlberg’s research method consisted of presenting the subjects with fictitious moral dilemmas that they had to deal with. A well-known one was Heinz’s dilemma, which was about answering whether it is right for a man to steal a medicine , that he cannot afford to buy, for his wife with cancer. But it is not the answer, yes or no, that is important, but how the test subject justifies his or her position.
Kohlberg’s moral stages
The moral training in ART/AART is based on Kohlberg’s moral stages. Stages 1 and 2 represent an immature or superficial moral judgment. Stages 3 and 4 represent a more mature moral reasoning. Kohlberg’s model consists of 6 levels, but stages 5 and 6 are not used in the ART/AART training. Arnold Goldstein used to say that it is pretty much only Gandhi, Mother Theresa and Jesus who reach the highest level, very rarely any juvenile delinquents!
Stage 1: “Might makes Right”. At the first stage, the person thinks egocentric. What is right or wrong is determined by what is rewarded or punished by some authority.
Stage 2: “I scratch your back, you scratch mine”. In the second stage, the person can consider the perspectives of others, even if the motives and actions are still selfish.
Stage 3: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” You strive to do the right thing for yourself and live up to the demands and expectations that are set’
Stage 4: “Are you contributing to society?”. The person follows his conscience and does his duty as a good citizen. Society is seen as a system of laws and rules that must be followed.
Stage 5: Laws are no longer absolute, but can and should be changed if, for example, they lead to human rights violations.
Stage 6: A person can live according to universal principles, such as the “Golden Rule” or Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative. The person can put their own interests aside and take perspectives from all the actors involved.
An immature morality also leads to cognitive distortions
A delayed development results in both an egocentric morality and cognitive distortions. Both of these aspects are the focus of moral training. Cognitive distortions (thought traps) are difficult to change. Normally, the young people have used them for many years, and from the young people’s perspective, they have worked well. Some Thought Traps commonly used by aggressive and antisocial adolescents:
- Self-centered thinking errors reflect an egocentric perspective. “Me first”
- Assuming the worst. The worst is believed about people and their motives
- Blaming others “Nothing is my fault!”, “You were the one who started”.
- Trivializing/misnaming, one depicts antisocial behavior as harmless, acceptable or
even admirable. - False consensus, they believe that others behave the same as themselves.
- Cognitive locking (anchoring). They show a strong resistance to change, even when
there is strong evidence against it.
Act morally!
Morality is about concrete actions and behaviors. In simple terms, ethics is the theory of morality. Morality, on the other hand, is the very actions that express our moral values in practice. It is thus the person’s concrete action that is moral or immoral. Research shows that moral training can affect attitudes, but that this does not automatically lead to a change in behavior. Thus, moral attitudes do not transform into moral behavior by themselves. Traditional moral training in the form of discussion (without role-playing and homework) has also not proven to be very effective. This teaches us that changes in moral reasoning and attitudes must be transformed into actual concrete behaviors!
Calibrate your moral compass!
Start with yourself! Who do you want to be? Act in accordance with your values! Practice acting responsibly and morally. Here’s a skill you can use to make morally responsible decisions. You will also be a good model for others!
Skill: Dealing with a Moral Dilemma
1. Describe the dilemma
What’s the problem? What choices do you face?
2. What do you want to achieve?
How would you like it to be?
3. Who is involved?
List the names (when training this skill, write these on the board)
4. Think about the dilemma from each person’s perspective
How do they feel? How do they think? What should they do?
5. Choose the solution that seems best to as many people as possible
What are the likely consequences of different choices?
Make sure you don’t make the decision based on a self-centered thought trap
The decision should reflect a mature moral level
6. Put your solution into action!
What skills are needed?
Is your action an expression of some positive characteristic?
What character traits can be linked to the chosen action?