Chapter 4

Attitudes, Values, & Ethics

 Attitude

Attitude - a psychological tendency expressed by

evaluating an entity with some degree of favor or
disfavor

Should poor performance be

blamed on “bad attitude”?
 ABC Model of an Attitude
Component Measured by Example
A ffect Physiological indicators I don’t like
Verbal statements my boss.
about feelings
B ehavioral Observed behavior I want to
intentions Verbal statements transfer to
about intentions another dept.
C ognition Attitude scales I believe my
Verbal statements boss plays
about beliefs favorites.
M.J. Rosenberg and C. I. Hovland, “Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Components
of Attitude,” in M.J. Rosenberg, C.I. Hovland, W.J. McGuire, R.P. Abelson, and J.H.
Brehm, Attitude Organization and Change, 1960
 Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance - a state of tension that is

produced
when an individual
experiences conflict
between attitudes
and behavior
attitude

behavior
 Two Influences on
Attitude Formation
Direct Experience

Social Learning - the process of deriving attitudes

from family, peer groups, religious organizations,
and culture
Four Processes for Social Learning
through Modeling

The learner must

Focus on the model
Retain what was observed
Practice the behavior
Be motivated
 Attitude-Behavior Correspondence
Requirements
Attitude specificity - a specific attitude
Attitude relevance - some self-interest
Measurement timing - measurement close to
observed behavior
Personality factors - ex. self-monitoring
Social constraints - acceptability
 Work Attitudes: Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction - a pleasurable or positive emotional

state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job
experience
Organizational Citizenship Behavior
– Behavior that is above and beyond duty
– Related to job satisfaction
 Work Attitudes: Organizational
Commitment

Affective Commitment
Organizational
Commitment
The strength of an
Continuance Commitment
individual’s
identification with
an organization
Normative Commitment
 Values

Values - enduring beliefs that a specific mode of

conduct or end state of existence is personally or
socially preferable to an opposite or converse
mode of conduct or end state of existence
 Values

Instrumental - values that represent the acceptable

behaviors to be used in achieving some end
state
Terminal - values that represent the goals to be
achieved, or the end states of existence
 Work Values

Achievement (career advancement)

Concern for others (compassionate behavior)
Honesty (provision of accurate information)
Fairness (impartiality)
 Cultural Differences in Values

Group
Authority is a input is
right of important.
office and Decisions
rank should be
challenged.

France
The Netherlands
 Handling Cultural Differences
Learn about others’ values
Avoid prejudging
Operate legitimately within others ethical points of
view
Avoid rationalizing
Refuse to violate fundamental values
Be open and above board
 Ethical Behavior

Ethical Behavior - acting in ways consistent with

one’s personal values and the commonly held
values of the organization and society.
 Qualities Required for Ethical
Decision-making

The competence to identify ethical issues and evaluate

the consequences of alternative courses of action

The self-confidence to seek out different opinions about

the issue and decide what is right in terms of a situation

Tough-mindedness--the willingness to make decisions

when all that needs to be known cannot be known and when
the ethical issue has no established, unambiguous solution
 Individual/Organizational Model of
Ethical Behavior
Individual Influences
Value systems
Locus of control
Machiavellianism
Cognitive moral development
Ethical
Behavior
Organizational Influences
Codes of conduct
Norms
Modeling
Rewards and punishments
 Values, Ethics & Ethical Behavior
Value Systems - systems of beliefs that affect what
the individual defines as right, good, and fair
Ethics - reflects the way values are acted out
Ethical behavior - actions consistent with one’s
values
 Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism - A personality characteristic

indicating one’s willingness to do whatever it
takes to get one’s own way
 Ethics

The system of rules that governs the ordering of

values. Addresses such questions as:
– What are the meanings of the ethical concepts of
good and right?
– How can a person reach a conclusion about an
ethical dilemma?
– Do ethical dilemmas have answers that would be
universally accepted as right, proper, and
appropriate?
 Ethics
Universalism – States that
individuals should uphold
certain values, like honesty,
regardless of the results.
The important values are the
ones society needs to
function. (Rule based or
deontological, an inherent
‘right’ apart from any
consequences.)
Utilitarianism – States
that the greatest good for
society should be the
overriding concern of
decision makers.
(Consequential, or
teleological) emphasizes
the results of behavior.)
 Ethics
Justice Theories – State
moral standards are based
upon the primacy of a single
value, which is justice.
Everyone should act to
ensure a more equitable
distribution of benefits, for
this promotes self-respect,
essential for social
cooperation.
The Four Way Test
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is if FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL
and better friendships?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to
all concerned?
 Moral Reasoning

The thinking processes involved in judgments

about questions of right and wrong.

Kohlberg’s work (’63, ’75, ’81):

– Divided moral development into three levels
 Moral Reasoning

Pre-conventional
– Judgment based solely on a person’s own needs and
perceptions
Conventional
– Expectations of society and law are taken into account
Post-Conventional
– Judgment based on abstract, personal principles not
necessarily defined by society’s laws.
 Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemmas

Hypothetical situations in which no choice is

clearly and indisputably right.
 The Heinz Dilemma

A man’s wife is dying. There is one drug that

could save her life, but it is very expensive, and
the druggist who invented it will not sell it at a
price low enough for the man to buy it. Finally,
the man becomes desperate and considers
stealing the drug for his wife. What should he do
and why?
 Kohlberg’s Work

Stage 1 (Pre conventional)

– Punishment-obedience orientation
• Fear of authority and avoidance of punishment are
reasons for behaving morally.
Stage 2 (Pre conventional)
– Personal reward orientation
• Satisfying personal needs determines moral choice.
 Kohlberg’s Work

Stage 3 (Conventional)
– Good boy-nice girl orientation
• Maintaining the affection and approval of friends and
relatives motivates good behavior
Stage 4 (Conventional)
– Law and order/authority orientation
• A duty to uphold rules and laws for their own sake justifies
moral conformity
 Kohlberg’s Work

Stage 5 (Post conventional)

– Social contract orientation
• We obey rules because they are necessary for social
order, but rules can be changed if there were better
alternatives
Stage 6 (Post conventional)
– Morality of individual principles and conscience
• Behavior which conforms to internal principles (justice
and equality) and may sometimes violate society’s rules.
 Carol Gilligan

“In a Different Voice”

1977, 1981
 Moral reasoning is delimited by
“...two moral perspectives that
organize thinking in different ways.”

Men: define morality in terms of justice.

Women: less in terms of rights and more in

terms of standards of responsibility and care.
Gilligan’s Perspective:

Males = typically a justice/rights orientation

Females = care response orientation
Orientations arise form rational experiences of inequality and
attachment
Girls attached to and identify with mothers
Boys attached to mothers and identify with fathers
Believes that:

That response orientation is of a higher order than justice

rights orientation
Because Kohlberg’s theory is hierarchical with justice/rights
the basis--women would necessarily show a less reasoned
perspective on his scales.
First studies of Kohlberg only conducted with men
 The two perspectives are not
opposite ends of a continuum,
“...with justice uncaring and caring
unjust...”, but rather, “...a different
method of organizing the basic
elements of moral judgment: self,
others, and the relationship between
them.”
(Gilligan, 1987, p.22)
“One moral perspective dominates
psychological thinking and is
embedded in the most widely used
measures for measuring maturity of
moral reasoning.”
C. Gilligan, 1987, p.22
 Gilligan’s Theory

Based on two observational studies.

Study One: 25 college students
Study Two: 29 women considering
abortion
 Gilligan’s Research:

“shift[s] the focus of attention from ways people

reason about hypothetical dilemmas to ways
people construct moral conflicts and choice in
their lives...and [makes] it possible to see what
experiences people define in moral terms, and to
explore the relationship between the
understanding of moral problems and the
reasoning strategies used and the actions taken in
attempting to solve them.” Gilligan, 1987, p.21
 Alternative Stage Sequence:

Three levels with transitional phases

between each:

Level One: Complete concern for

self (Individual Survival).
Transitional Phase: From self to care
and concern for others.
 Level Two

Level Two: Primary interest in the care of

others (to gain their acceptance) (Self sacrifice and
Social conformity).

Transitional Phase: awareness of self relative to

developing relationships with others: responsibility
toward their care and needs.
 Level Three

Level Three: Nonviolence and

universal caring.
“articulates an ethic of responsibility that focuses on
the actual consequences of choice,,,the criterion of
adequacy or moral principles changes from objective
truth to ‘best fit’, and can only be established within the
context of the dilemma itself.”
Murphy and Gilligan, 1980, p.83
 Good Points:

Concept of care giving and nurturing

Relationship of self to others, responsibility
Empathy
Effect on environment
 Hawthorne Effect:

Subjects may try harder simply

because they are in the control
group.
 Rosenthal Effect:

Researcher’s biases tend to sway the

results to be what the researcher
wants to find
“Rather than arguing over the extent to which sex
bias is inherent in Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development, it might be more appropriate to
ask why the myth that males are more
advanced in moral reasoning than females
persists in light of such little evidence.”
Walker, 1984, p.688
 Cognitive Moral Development

Cognitive Moral Development - The process of

moving through stages of maturity in terms of
making ethical decisions

Level l Level ll Level lll

Premoral Conventional Principled