Textbooks:

Aristotle, Nicomachean ethics. (Martin Ostwald, Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962.

Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (Mary Gregor, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Daniel K. Lapsley, Moral psychology. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1996.

Course Description:

The focus of this course is descriptive moral psychology. Moral psychologists study moral reasoning, moral judgment, moral character, even moral action--and the ways in which human beings develop them. Moral development is a life-span issue: precursors of moral activity can be seen in toddlers, and moral development extends throughout adutlhood. Moral psychology does not seek to discover what we ought to do, or how we ought to live; it asks how human beings acquire their conceptions of what to do, or how to live.

Even though moral psychology isn't trying to prescribe how to live, it is difficult to do reseach in moral psychology without making some assumptions about what morality consists of and about what is good for human beings. Consequently, we will devote some of our time to two orientations in moral philosophy that have led to very different conceptions of moral psychology. No background in moral philosophy is being required or presupposed; we are reading Aristotle and Immanuel Kant to get some exposure to significant and influential thinking about ethics, and students who have no previous experience in philosophy are welcome to participate in this course.

Every 400-level course in Psychology includes a significant written assignment. In this course, everyone will write a research paper (approximate length 10 to 15 pages) on a topic in moral development. Both theoretical discussions and reviews of the empirical literature are welcome. Please pay special attention to the due dates for your project proposal and for a draft of your complete project. The final version is due on the last day of class (Thursday April 28).

Course Attendance, Tests, and Grading: It's wisest to attend all classes; there is a lot in a course like this that you will not learn just by reading the textbook. Moreover, this is a relatively small class and your contributions to class discussion will be important, so staying current with the readings and participating regularly will benefit you as well as your fellow students. I will assume, however, that responsible adults do not need an attendance policy. If I haven't arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled time for a class, you are free to leave.

There will be three tests and the final project (for dates, see the class schedule--graduate students will also make an in-class presentation). Each test will consist of essay and short answer questions. A list of possible essay topics will be circulated during the class before each test.

In real emergency situations (illness, death of a family member, etc.) you may be excused from taking a test when scheduled. However, to be excused from taking a test on schedule, you must arrange the time and location of the makeup test with me before the time normally scheduled for the test.

Your grade will be based on this simple formula:

Extra credit: You are encouraged to participate in any research studies that might be going on in the psychology department while this course is in session. You will earn 1/4 point extra credit toward your final grade for each 15 minutes that you participate in. The maximum is 5 points (for 20 units of up to 15 minutes each). Please keep track of your participation using the department subject pool Web site. If you would prefer not to participate in research studies, you also have the option of writing an 8-page paper on a topic in moral psychology (not the same topic as your final project); please check with me for topic guidelines and due dates if you are interested in writing this paper.

Cheating: Tests and the final project in this course are meant to be your individual work. Providing information to others (or obtaining it from them) during a test--or using unauthorized notes on such occasions--constitutes cheating. You are welcome to discuss your final project with others, but the drafts and the final version must be your work alone. If you decide to cheat, I will take action against you according to University policy.

Our Schedule

Date	Topic	Reading
Thu. January 13	What is moral psychology?
Tue. January 18	Morality and human flourishing	Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books I-III [Wed. Jan. 19 is Last Day to Add a Class]
Thu. January 20	Morality and human flourishing	Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books IV-V
Tue. January 25	Morality and human flourishing	Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books VI-VIII [Wed. Jan. 26 is Last Day to Withdraw without Receiving a Grade]
Thu. January 27	Morality and human flourishing	Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books IX-X
Tue. February 1	TEST 1	Aristotle
Thu. February 3	Morality and impersonal duty	Kant, Groundwork, pp. 1-18
Tue. February 8	Morality and impersonal duty	Kant, Groundwork, pp. 19-47
Thu. February 10	Morality and impersonal duty	Kant, Groundwork, pp. 48-67
Tue. February 15	Jean Piaget's theory of development	Lapsley, Moral psychology, Ch. 1 [Project Proposals Due]
Thu. February 17	Jean Piaget's theory of development	Lapsley, Ch. 2
Tue. February 22	Jean Piaget's moral psychology	Lapsley, Ch. 3
Thu. February 24	Jean Piaget's moral psychology	Lapsley, Ch. 3
Tue. March 1	Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning	Lapsley, Ch. 4
Thu. March 3	Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning	Lapsley, Ch. 4
Tue. March 8	TEST 2	Kant and Lapsley, Ch. 1-4
Thu. March 10	Kohlberg simplified: The Defining Issues Test	Lapsley, Ch. 5
Tue. March 15	The domains model: Morality and social convention	Lapsley, Ch. 6
Thu. March 17	The domains model: Morality, social convention, and...	Lapsley, Ch. 6
Mon.-Fri. March 21-25	SPRING BREAK
Tue. March 29	Justice and caring	Lapsley, Ch. 7
Thu. March 31	Altruism and prosocial behavior	Lapsley, Ch. 8-9
Tue. April 5	Altruism and prosocial behavior	Lapsley, Ch. 10-11
Thu. April 7	Moral character	Lapsley, Ch. 10-11
Tue. April 12	Moral character	Lapsley, Ch. 10-11
Thu. April 14	Morality and the self	Lapsley, Ch. 12 Final Project Drafts Due
Tue. April 19	TEST 3	Lapsley, Ch. 6-12
Thu. April 21	The development of values
Tue. April 26	Self-esteem, values, and virtue
Thu. April 28	Concluding discussion	FINAL PROJECT DUE