How does the Media Shape Our Development of Moral Judgment Research Paper

How does the Media Shape Our Development of Moral Judgment - Research Paper Example How this is happening is the way in which the youth is spending a lot of their time with the media due to their easy access to explicit content. With added convenience children can find stories that encompass violence, sexual promiscuity, theft, and greed in numerous media outlets such as fictional programming, a number of reality shows, music, and through the Internet. Research primarily looks at the effects on morality due to the media by looking at the underlying moral decision making that affects their behaviors. As far as children are concerned their moral development follows a very conventional developmental path. When these children, typically under the age of eight, are presented with an ethical dilemma their judgment of right and wrong is highly reliant on whether their action results in a reward or punishment. However as children mature their judgment takes into account a larger amount of factors, intentions and motives which revolve around recognition of the many conflicti ng rules inherent in moral dilemmas. Such a change can be attributed to the fact that their moral reasoning becomes much more flexible and ‘other’ oriented. ... A majority of the children’s perception found unjustified aggression to be wrong however children who watched programs that encompassed fantasy violence, such as Power Rangers, were more inclined to judge the ‘justified’ aggression being morally correct. Research reinforces this notion seeing as how violence in famous superhero cartoons is mostly seen as justified. Hence in the Krcmar study, it was observed how children who watched fantasy violence and those who watched realistic entertainment violence, such as Cops, were seen to display a lesser advanced moral reasoning strategies, with their primary focus being on rules and how prominent the presence or absence of punishment was as far as moral dilemmas was concerned. In another study which focuses on a similar pattern it was found that children who watched fantasy violence frequently were more likely than those who were light viewers to perceive justified violence as being morally correct. The heavy exposure to fantasy violence also led to these children having a lesser advanced role-taking abilities, which consequently affected their moral reasoning skills, making them less sophisticated (Wilson, 2008). A study also focused on looking at the influence the family had on a child’s television viewing and moral reasoning. It was found that if parents stressed and emphasized on communication within a family the children were less likely to watch fantasy violence that was shown on television and therefore develop higher moral reasoning skills and vice versa (Livingstone, 1996). A longitudinal study conducted by Judy Dunnn and Claire Hughes looked at how the media had an impact on the moral development of â€Å"hard-to-manage† preschoolers when compared with

Kant and Hume on Morality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kant and Hume on Morality - Essay Example Later on these views are critically analysed to establish which point of view is better. Kant Kant argues for an a priori basis for morality in his work. The central concept is the â€Å"categorical imperative†. The author sees morality springing from nothing other than pure reason. This contradicts Hume directly who held that reason could never be ground to justify morality. However, Kant states that people’s personhood and dignity should always be respected. People can be treated as both a means and an end simultaneously but not merely as means. Lying has been used as an example by Kant to justify his notion. He considers lying to be immoral under any circumstances and for any purpose at all. Actions must be universal according to Kant. Moreover, morality cannot be treated as an issue of mere preference or taste. Kant has utilised maxims to establish the a priori basis for morality. Volition is wanted that is a rule that is followed by an intentional act. He argues th at any moral actions must fall into one of the five categories that constitute the categorical imperative. ... thing: â€Å"can be regarded as good without qualification, except a good will.† 1 Good will is seen as the beacon that guides a person to doing the right thing. In case that a person fails to do a good thing, the good will has not failed. Instead the ability to carry out the good will has failed. Following the establishment of good will, Kant moves to establish moral obligations and duty. He delineates that many acts are done out of personal consideration rather than for the sake of morality. A shopkeeper who uses honest prices is doing so because he wishes to be respected by his customers and not merely for the sake of morality alone. Kant believes that such a person â€Å"deserves praise and encouragement, but not esteem.† 2 People who commit the greatest moral acts are the ones who commit such actions without regard for reward. Kant affirms that these are the only people who are actually acting morally. Durkheim’s altruistic suicide is seen by Kant as an este emed action because the man giving up his life gains nothing out of it. As per Kant: â€Å"Duty is the necessity to act out of reverence for the (moral) law.† 3 Following the moral law in intrinsic sense of right and wrong is a person’s greatest obligation. Hence, morality is a priori as per Kant. He further proposes four situations that demand decision making to with respect to duty. These are: actions contrary to duty for example stealing; dutiful actions carried out in fear of reprisal or penalties for example paying taxes, not violating traffic signs; dutiful actions that are carried out because of the agent’s prior inclination to them generally because such actions are pleasurable for example any labour of love; dutiful actions that contradict personal inclination for example not resorting to suicide