Good Church, Wrong Church Sign

One of the churches I drive by every day had on its sign this week, "Moral is what you feel good after." I know what they mean, but that guideline alone isn't enough to get someone to act like the preacher wants them to act.

"Moral" simply means "right, based on what I believe to be right." Morals are based on beliefs about what is right and what is wrong.

Morals develop through a person's life. How we answer the question, "What is right and what is wrong?" changes as we develop cognitively.

Lawrence Kohlberg helped us understand this. His research in the 1950's revealed that our morals develop through three levels.

Young children are what he called, "Preconventional" in their moral understanding. They are driven by reward and punishment. "Right" is behavior that is rewarded. "Wrong" is behavior that is punished. "Moral" is behaving in a way to be rewarded.

By adolescence, most people have a "Conventional" morality. It is driven by external rules. "Right" is obeying the rules. "Wrong" is disobeying the rules. We begin by learning that our parents have rules, then learn that society has rules/laws. "Moral" is obeying the rules/laws.

Many people (most?) eventually move to "Postconventional" morality, driven by internal values. They believe that there is more to right and wrong than just asking if there is a rule. Some things are more important than rules. Some rules/laws are immoral, and "moral" would be to disobey them.

The civil rights movement was driven by postconventional morality. Segregation laws were disobeyed, and eventually changed, because the conscience of a generation was panged by their effect on people. The rules were wrong.

Back to the church sign. When will I feel good? When I have done something that I think is good to do.

People who believed that segregation laws were good laws, felt good about obeying them. People who believed that segregation laws were bad laws, felt good about disobeying them. Neither group had a conscience problem.

According to the church sign, which group was "moral"? Both, because they both felt good after their behaviors.

So, the preacher may want to do more than admonish people to do things that make them feel good. He might want to work on presenting compelling reasons for why the behaviors he preaches are right. If he convinces them, they will feel good when they behave that way, and bad when they do not.

Somebody Help Her!

You may seen the news item. A woman dies on the floor of an emergency room waiting room, and none of the people who watched helped her. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOCpOZ4txvs)

Why? Social Psychology offers an explanation: Bystander Effect.

There is a chain of five stages involved in deciding whether or not we will help someone in trouble. If the chain is broken at any stage, we will not help.

1. I have to notice the situation. If I am distracted or preoccupied, I might not see it. If I don't see a situation in which help is needed, I won't help.

2. I have to interpret it as a "help-needed" situation. If it is ambiguous, I might misinterpret and not help.

3. I have to feel a personal responsibility to help. If there are several people around, responsibility is diffused and no one feels personally responsible. Also, if no one else is helping, I may decide that they know something I don't - that it is not a situation in which help is really needed - and I key off of their non-involvement.

4. I have to weigh the rewards and costs of helping. If the costs, such as possible harm to myself, outweigh the rewards, such as social recognition, I may choose to not help.

5. I have to be able to help. If CPR is needed, and I don't know how to perform it, I can't help.

If I notice, interpret correctly, feel personal responsibility, decide the costs are not too great, and am capable of helping, I help. All five stages are required.

If I don't notice, OR don't interpret it correctly, OR don't feel personal responsibility, OR decide the costs are too great or rewards too small, OR am not capable of helping, I do not help. Only one stage has to break down.

The question isn't, why don't people help more often than they do? It is, why do people help as often as they DO?

Should You Study Psychology Online?

As I develop online versions of my psychology classes, I find myself wondering what kind of students should enroll in them. The sections fill, but I am convinced that many take it that would do better in a traditional class.

I personally believe that introductory psychology courses are a perfect fit for online, independent study. Advanced courses may not be.

I have shared the following 10-item questionnaire with our academic advisors, to give to students who are considering enrolling in online classes. The questions are not original with me. I have synthesized them from a number of forgotten sources.

Is taking an online course a good idea for you?

Answer YES or NO to the 10 questions to get an idea.

Are you a self-starter, self-motivated to work?
Do you budget your time and set schedules to turn in work on time?
Do you usually read and understand textbooks?
Can you understand and follow written instructions?
Do you have daily access to a computer with internet?
Can you navigate through computer windows?
Can you create, save, copy, and paste files?
Can you create and print word processing documents?
Can you use email with attachments?
Can you use your school's course management software? (Blackboard, WebCT, Desire2Learn, etc.)

SCORING:
0 “No” answers: Online may fit you perfectly!
1-3 “No” answers: These are areas that you should strengthen or address.
4-10 “No” answers: Your chances for success might be better in a traditional class.