MORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND INFORMATION ETHICS

This chapter discusses the ways in which moral psychology can inform information ethics. A domains, electronic communications and digital property, are then explored technology can impact each of the four components believed to underlie mora argued that technology can create a kind of “psychological distance” betwee owners). This “distance” potentially impacts all four components of moral beh way that the usual social or moral constraints operative under normal (non-tech circumstances (e.g., face-to-face communication) may be reduced, thereb occurrence of unethical activities like piracy, hacking, or flaming. Re deleterious impact of technology on each of the four components leads to a of how specific educational interventions can be devised to strengthen moral s judgment, motivation and action within the context of our increasingly MORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND INFORMATION ETHICS 2 communication, computer-mediated communication, face-to-face, psychological distance, email, flaming, spamming, cyber-rape, digital objects MORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND INFORMATION ETHICS 3 We ignore ethics and computing at our peril! (Rogerson & Bynum, 1995) le do bad things. logists interested in psychological components of morality, the elements that work in concert to bring about moral behavior (Rest, Unethical behavior is pervasive and timeless, as is the question of why peop What makes some people behave morally or ethically and others not? Psycho moral development have attempted to answer such questions by examining the 1979). Emerging from this work is a model of moral behavior that identifies the joint action of four psychological processes: sensitivity, judgment, motivation, and action (N 1995). Certainly, the “information age” has been accompanied by its share o ethical issues and challenges. Interestingly, many (if not most) of these ch unethical behaviors seen throughout history, from stealing property to invad (Johnson, 2001). Because these issues have been studied and analyzed for ye contexts, it is all the more important for information science researchers and pra arvaez & Rest, f technology-related allenges are not fundamentally new (Barger, 2001). Although there may well be exceptions, information technology appears to have created new and different ways to engage in the same kinds of ing personal privacy ars in other ctitioners to be well acquainted with general principles of moral and ethical development. Indeed, it is now well-attested that our perceptions of the moral landscape are influenced by developmental and ional interventions with respect to their use of information technology, educators can take advantage of a wealth of knowledge social-cognitive factors (Lapsley & Narvaez, in press). In order to plan educat that help technology users develop appropriate ethical attitudes and behaviors about moral development from the field of moral psychology. The purpose of this chapter is to acquaint those working in the field of Information Science with a psychological perspective on moral or ethical behavior. In this chapter we examine key MORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND INFORMATION ETHICS 4 psychological processes that are critical for moral behavior, discuss the function of these domain of technology, and suggest strategies to enhance education related to processes in the information ethics. At the outset, it is important to draw attention to our use of certain terms. W “immoral” and what is “illegal. ” To be “legal” is to conform one’s behavior to established by the societies in which we live. Morality, on the other hand, conformity to “divine law” or codes of conduct derived from principles of righ hile we make no substantive distinction between the terms “moral” and “ethical,” there is an important difference between what may be considered “moral” and what is “legal,” or conversely between what is the laws is a matter of t and wrong that transcend societal strictures. There is no automatic correspondence between that which is “legal” and that which is “moral,” or vice versa. That is, depending on the society, what many ed legal (e.g., prostitution in Nevada) while ring World War 2) would consider immoral practices may be consider some illegal practices (e.g., harboring Jewish fugitives in Nazi Germany du may be quite moral. A FOUR COMPONENT MODEL OF MORAL BEHAVIOR The Four Component Model (Narvaez & Rest, 1995; Rest, 1979) represents the internal “processes” necessary for a moral act to ensue: moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral r virtues; rather they are major units of analysis used to trace how a person responds in a particular social situation. The model depicts an “ensemble of processes,” not a single, unitary one. Therefore, the operation of a single component does not predict moral behavior. Instead, behaving morally depends upon each process and the execution of the entire ensemble. Each process involves motivation, and moral action. These components are not personality traits o MORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND INFORMATION ETHICS 5 cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects that function together in fostering the completion of a odel and are presented moral action. Collectively, the following processes comprise the Four Component M in logical order: (1) “Ethical sensitivity” involves perceiving the relevant elements in the situation and constructing an interpretation of those elements. This first component also includes consideration of what actions are possible, who and what might be affected by each possible Ethical judgment action, and how the involved parties might react to possible outcomes. (2) “ ” or ethical. (3) relates to reasoning about the possible actions and deciding which is most moral “Ethical motivation” involves prioritizing what is considered to be the most moral or ethical action over all others and being intent upon following that course. (4) “Ethical action” combines the strength of will with the social and psychological skills necessary to carry out the intended requisite skills t may arise. tion is often most . Consider the young adult who is tempted to download copyrighted music that has been illegally placed on a file sharing system in violation of the owner’s rights. Let’s call this young adult, “Jim,” and examine . Moreover, let’s stances is both illegal and immoral. Ethical Sensitivity To respond to a situation in a moral way, a person must be able to perceive and interpret events in a way that leads to ethical action. The person must be sensitive to situational cues and course of action. This fourth component, then, is dependent both on having the and on persisting in the face of any obstacles or challenges to the action tha When considering moral or ethical behavior, a post-hoc analysis of the situa helpful. In this way, we can point out where the processes might have failed the four component processes in an effort to understand what might happen assume that downloading music for which one has not paid under these circum MORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND INFORMATION ETHICS 6 must be able to visualize various alternative actions in response to that situation. A morally nterpersonal ating empathy for ining what might happen and who might be affected. Individuals with higher empathy for others and with better perspective-taking skills are more likely to behave for the good of others in a manner that is said veloped ethical ucing the music. He for their welfare and a sense of concern for them. He considers the ramifications of downloading copyrighted material including his and other people’s welfare and reactions. Ethical Judgment hical sensitivity skills, ng the possible have (male and female) develop increasingly sophisticated moral reasoning structures based on age and experience, especially related to education (Rest, Narvaez, Bebeau, & Thoma, 1999). Jim could use one of several moral schemas (conceptual structures) in g on their level of moral judgment development. Using the “Personal Interests Schema” (common in high school students and younger), Jim would consider what benefits himself the most and perhaps choose to download the music from the file-sharing server. Alternatively, he might be worried about being caught and having to suffer the consequences, leading him to choose not to download. Based on sensitive person draws on many aspects, skills, techniques and components of i sensitivity. These include taking the perspectives of others (role taking), cultiv and a sense of connection to others, and interpreting a situation based on imag to be “pro-social” (Eisenberg, 1992). So if Jim, our young adult, has highly de sensitivity skills, he takes the perspectives of all the people involved in prod