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Behavioral Ethics

Behavioral ethics studies why people make ethical (and unethical) decisions to gain insights into how we can improve ethical decision-making and promote a culture of ethics.

Overview

Traditional philosophical approaches to ethics focus on defining and understanding moral theory and the concepts of right and wrong. Behavioral ethics, on the other hand, examines how we make moral decisions and offers insights into how we can be our best selves. It is a relatively new interdisciplinary study that draws on research from fields such as social psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and game theory (to name a few).

Research in behavioral ethics shows that people are often influenced, subconsciously, by psychological biases, organizational and social pressures, and situational factors that impact their decision making and can lead to unethical action. The resources in this section explore many behavioral ethics concepts that are applicable to our everyday lives – personal and professional – such as framing, role morality, and the self-serving bias.

Many concepts in behavioral ethics operate in tandem with each other. For example, we often frame a situation to suit our self-interest without realizing it, and then rationalize our choices and actions based on that framing. Everybody does it (often on a daily basis). And it involves the concepts of framing, self-serving bias, ethical fading, and rationalizations. So, the more familiar you become with the entire body of knowledge described by behavioral ethics research, the deeper and richer your understanding will be of the full range of decision-making pitfalls and their impact on ethics and leadership.

Start Here: Videos

Intro to Behavioral Ethics

Intro to Behavioral Ethics

Behavioral Ethics investigates why people make the ethical (and unethical) decisions that they do in order to gain insights into how people can improve their ethical decision-making and behavior.

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Ethical Fading

Ethical Fading

Ethical fading occurs when we are so focused on other aspects of a decision that its ethical dimensions fade from view.

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Self-serving Bias

Self-serving Bias

The self-serving bias causes us to see things in ways that support our best interests and our pre-existing points of view.

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Start Here: Cases

A Million Little Pieces

A Million Little Pieces

James Frey’s popular memoir stirred controversy and media attention after it was revealed to contain numerous exaggerations and fabrications.

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Arctic Offshore Drilling

Arctic Offshore Drilling

Competing groups frame the debate over oil drilling off Alaska’s coast in varying ways depending on their environmental and economic interests.

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Krogh & the Watergate Scandal

Krogh & the Watergate Scandal

Egil Krogh was a young lawyer working for the Nixon Administration whose ethics faded from view when asked to play a part in the Watergate break-in.

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Teaching Notes

Begin by viewing the “Start Here” videos. They introduce key topics in behavioral ethics such as framing, ethical fading, and the self-serving bias, which are relevant to every field of study. Read through these videos’ teaching notes for details and related ethics concepts. Watch the “Related Videos” and/or read the related Case Study. “Additional Resources” offer further reading, a bibliography, and (sometimes) assignment suggestions.

Show a video in class, assign a video to watch outside of class, or embed a video in an online learning module such as Canvas. Then, prompt conversation in class to encourage peer-to-peer learning. Ask students to answer the video’s “Discussion Questions,” and to reflect on the ideas and issues raised by the students in the video. How do their experiences align? How do they differ? The videos also make good writing prompts. Ask students to watch a video and apply the ethics concept to course content.

Case studies are an effective way to introduce ethics topics, too, and for students to learn how to spot ethical issues. Select a case study from the Cases Series or ask students to read a video’s “Case Study” and answer the case study “Discussion Questions.” Then, ask students to reason through the ethical dimensions presented, and to sketch the ethical decision-making process outlined by the case. Then, challenge students to develop strategies to avoid these ethical pitfalls. Suggest students watch the case study’s “Related Videos” and “Related Terms” to further their understanding.

Ethics Unwrapped blogs are also useful prompts to engage students. Learning about ethics in the context of real-world (often current) events can enliven classroom discussion and make ethics relevant and concrete for students. Share a blog in class or post one to the class’s online learning module. To spur discussion, ask students to identify the ethical issues at hand and to name the ethics concepts related to the blog (or current event in the news). Dig more deeply into the topic using the Additional Resources listed at the end of the blog post.

Remember to review video, case study, and blogs’ relevant glossary terms. In this way, you will become familiar with all the ethics concepts contained in these material. Share this vocabulary with your students, and use it to expand and enrich ethics and leadership conversations in your classroom. To dive deeper in the glossary, watch “Related” glossary videos.

As noted above, many behavioral ethics concepts operate in tandem with each other. As you watch more videos, you will become more fluent in behavioral ethics and see the interrelatedness of these concepts more readily. You also will be able to spot behavioral ethical issues more easily – at least, that is the hope! As your students watch more videos, it will be easier for them to recognize and understand the influence of behavioral ethics on their thoughts and actions, and to express their ideas about what is and isn’t ethical and why. Hopefully, with assistance, they will develop strategies for mitigating the influences and pressures described by behavioral ethics research. And, equally important, they will realize the interconnectedness of ethics and leadership, and the essential role behavioral ethics plays in developing solid leadership skills.

Additional Videos

Additional Cases