Is there an early developing neuro-cognitive structure that is specific to our moral sense? Recent research has begun to explore this question using a classic thought experiment known as the trolley problem. These “trolley studies” have uncovered what appears to be a universal pattern of moral intuitions in adults that some argue can only be explained by assuming implicit knowledge of complex moral principles. In this dissertation, I build on this work by testing preschoolers’ and adults’ tacit knowledge of the principle of double effect – a principle that has a long history within the fields of philosophy, religion, and law, and which has recently been proposed to underlie our moral intuitions in the trolley problem. I also investigate the role of perceived ingroup/outgroup structure in moral judgment – a factor which others have hypothesized to be a foundation of moral judgment. Across three studies, preschoolers (studies 1 and 2) and adults (study 3) were tested on a series of dilemmas that were similar in structure to the traditional trolley problems, but involved property violations and assault (i.e. the apprehension of bodily harm) rather than “personal” violations such as battery or homicide. In all three studies, participants showed a strong and stable pattern of intuitions consistent with the principle of double effect: dilemmas in which an individual was harmed as a foreseen side effect of saving five people were judged favorably, but dilemmas in which an individual was intentionally harmed as a means to saving five people were judged unfavorably. Four-year-olds and adults (but not three-year-olds) also disapproved of scenarios in which an agent knowingly allowed a preventable harm to occur. Manipulations of minimal ingroup/outgroup structure had little to no effect on either preschoolers’ or adults’ moral judgments in these dilemmas. Implications for the structure and development of moral judgment are discussed.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Psychology
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_5234
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
x, 188 p. : ill.
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Katharine Saunders
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Judgment (Ethics)
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Conduct of life
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore19991600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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License
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Author Agreement License
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.