Does 'could' lead to good?
Subtitle: toward a theory of moral insight
By: Ting Zhang, Francesca Gino, Joshua Margolis
Contributors: Gino, Francesca, author; Margolis, Joshua, author; Harvard Business School
Series: Working paper / Harvard Business School -- 14-118; Working paper (Harvard Business School) -- 14-118.
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 51
Description: We introduce the construct of moral insight and study how it can be elicited when people face ethical dilemmas -- challenging decisions that feature tradeoffs between competing and seemingly incompatible values. Moral insight consists of discovering solutions that move beyond selecting one conflicting ethical option over another. Moral insight encompasses both a cognitive process and a discernible output: it involves the realization that an ethical dilemma might be addressed other than by conceding one set of moral imperatives to meet another, and it involves the generation of solutions that allow competing objectives to be met. Across four studies, we find that moral insight is generated when individuals are prompted to consider the question "What could I do?" in place of their intuitive approach of considering "What should I do?" Together, these studies point toward a theory of moral insight and important practical implications.
Notes: "June 2014" -- Publisher's website.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 35-42).