Moral Minds: The Psychology of Morality

We have all “taken one for the team,” stood loyally by friends, overcome desires to cheat, and helped others before ourselves. We have also all stretched the truth to make ourselves look better, treated others intolerantly, and given preferential treatment to a friend. What motivates us to act in these moral and immoral ways? Are these actions guided by emotion or by reason? Are there moral limits of tolerance or helping others? What makes these actions “moral” in the first place? In this course, we will grapple with these issues by exploring moral psychology from developmental, evolutionary, and cultural perspectives. We will consider whether humans are innately selfish, how we come to have a sense of right and wrong, and whether our moral psychology is shaped by our culture. Is there one moral mind or many moral minds? We will apply theories and concepts of moral psychology to issues debated in Supreme Court cases, while also becoming attuned to the subtle, often unnoticed patterning of moral psychology in our everyday lives. Throughout this course, we will try to step outside our own moralities to consider the moral motives of people with whom we do not necessarily agree. This course counts as elective credit towards the Psychology major.