Thanks to the rapid development of science and technology, scholars interested in morality now have more sophisticated ways to do their research. To date, relatively simple methods, such as the interview and self-report questionnaire, have been available to study morality among human subjects. However, achievements in the field of neuroscience may provide researchers with more direct measures to examine psychological processes associated with moral functioning.<\/p>\n
For example, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enables investigators to study brain functioning while subjects are watching and solving moral dilemmas without any potentially risky surgery<\/a>. Although there are debates about whether data acquired by fMRI investigations could perfectly and accurately show us what is happening in the subjects\u2019 brains due to its technological limitations<\/a> (e.g., whether fMRI signals represent the real activity in neurons), it is obvious that scholars now have more research methodologies that can show them features of the psychology of human morality that could not be uncovered so far.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s briefly review some new findings from fMRI studies of human morality. Greene and his colleagues\u2019 2001 seminal article<\/a> demonstrated neural correlates of deontological and utilitarian moral decision making processes. They examined neural correlates of moral judgment by presenting different types of moral dilemmas, such as the trolley and footbridge dilemma, to human subjects while they were in an MRI scanner. Their studies suggested that deontological moral judgment is associated with activity in brain regions related to emotion, while utilitarian moral judgment is associated with activity in regions related to cognition. Following Greene et al.\u2019s fMRI studies, many scholars in moral psychology have been using the fMRI method. The topics of these studies include but are not limited to the influences of cultural factors on moral judgment<\/a>, the different neural correlates associated with different types of moral philosophical decisions<\/a>, the role of self in moral reasoning<\/a>, how to alter social rule conformity with the brain stimulation<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Although the aforementioned fMRI studies have significantly contributed to advances in psychological research on human morality for sure, whether and how they can contribute to improve education in practice, particularly moral education, is still unclear<\/a>. Moral psychologists now have more knowledge about how human beings make moral decisions based on empirical findings at the neural level. Then, what could moral educators, who teach their students and create moral educational programs, learn from such empirical findings? For instance, what do new findings about the relationship between brain regions and specific moral functionalities tell educators about how to improve moral education at the practical level? Given the brain stimulation study that showed that stimulating the prefrontal cortex can enhance social conformity, should teachers use the method in their classrooms? Empirical neuroscientific studies per se might not be able to easily respond to these practical-level questions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My dissertation on moral education<\/a> attempted to answer the aforementioned questions by conducting studies in multiple disciplines. I was mainly interested in how findings from neuroscience research can inform moral psychological research and finally moral education in classroom. To achieve this goal, I started with setting up a basic hypothesis for my own experiments by reviewing previous fMRI research on morality. The first chapter<\/a> of my dissertation presents the results from the quantitative meta-analysis of previous fMRI studies focusing on moral functioning to illuminate the common neural activity pattern associated with moral functioning. In the second chapter<\/a>, I conducted an actual fMRI experiment that examined neural activity in the regions that were found to be commonly activated across moral psychological fMRI studies in my meta-analysis, particularly regions associated with selfhood. Then, I designed and tested a psychological intervention based on the neural-level evidence in a lab and classroom; findings from the intervention experiments are reported in the third chapter<\/a> in my dissertation which, for example, showed that attainable moral exemplars are more effective than extraordinary ones in promoting engagement with voluntary service. Although my dissertation would only be a preliminary trial to develop more effective moral educational interventions based on neuroscience and empirical evidence, the findings reported in the chapters might suggest a possible pathway from neuroscience to moral education in practice.<\/p>\n In the following posts, I will discuss how findings from neuroscience can contribute to moral education with concrete examples, chapters constituting my dissertation. Furthermore, I intend to introduce some other works<\/a> about the development of computational model<\/a>s predicting long-term, large-scale outcomes of educational interventions in moral education. Such computational model-based simulations will be able to assist educators and educational policy makers who are struggling with setting educational policies that can influence the developmental trajectories of students. I hope these future posts provide readers with some useful insights about how to bridge the gap between neuroscience and moral education in classrooms and schools.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Picture from Flickr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thanks to the rapid development of science and technology, scholars interested in morality now have more sophisticated ways to do their research. To date, relatively simple methods, such as the […]","protected":false},"author":1319,"featured_media":489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[88,94,147,146,51],"custom_author":[145],"class_list":["post-486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-open-for-debate","tag-education","tag-emotions","tag-exemplarism","tag-neuroscience","tag-psychology","custom_author-han-hyemin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8KPlM-7Q","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":492,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/identifying-core-psychological-processes-with-neuroimaging-experiments-to-improve-education-in-practice\/","url_meta":{"origin":486,"position":0},"title":"Identifying Core Psychological Processes with Neuroimaging Experiments to Improve Education in Practice","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"August 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Following my previous post\u00a0for this blog, in this post I discuss why examining psychological processes related to teaching and learning can provide useful insights about how to improve education. Many educators might think that they have their own tacit knowledge about how to make their classroom activities effective and that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":499,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/applying-findings-from-neuroscience-to-education-in-practice-and-educational-policy-making\/","url_meta":{"origin":486,"position":1},"title":"Applying Findings from Neuroscience to Education in Practice and Educational Policy-Making","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"September 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In this blog post, the last post of my post series, I intend to outline, by means of concrete examples, how findings from neuroscience can contribute practically to the improvement of education. As a prior teacher in moral education in Korean secondary schools, I was interested in how to effectively\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2018\/09\/Evstafiev-barocoa-school.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":843,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/moralism-wins-morality-loses-moralism-as-a-vice-in-the-public-debate\/","url_meta":{"origin":486,"position":2},"title":"Moralism wins, morality loses. Moralism as a vice in the public debate","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"January 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Federico Zuolo \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Back in the 20th century, it was not uncommon to hear a leftist accusing a conservative of being \u201cmoralist\u201d. Indeed, conservatives were attacked for their pruderies, bigotry and unjustified moralist worries about sexual liberation, drugs, female role, and so on; while a common tenet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/01\/Theriot_finger_mobile_7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/01\/Theriot_finger_mobile_7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/01\/Theriot_finger_mobile_7.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/01\/Theriot_finger_mobile_7.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":445,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/group-membership-moral-criticism-and-self-affirmation\/","url_meta":{"origin":486,"position":3},"title":"Group membership, moral criticism and self-affirmation","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"May 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Public debates often involve issues that people find distressing, especially if they involve accusations of moral wrongdoing (even in the past) by groups with whom one identifies.\u00a0 People want to avoid guilt \u2018by association\u2019 and maintain a general belief that they are good, rational, and moral creatures. Avoiding such feelings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2018\/05\/black-and-white-bridge-dancing-70402.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2018\/05\/black-and-white-bridge-dancing-70402.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2018\/05\/black-and-white-bridge-dancing-70402.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2018\/05\/black-and-white-bridge-dancing-70402.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2018\/05\/black-and-white-bridge-dancing-70402.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2018\/05\/black-and-white-bridge-dancing-70402.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":819,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/places-of-formation-cultivating-open-mindedness-amongst-university-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":486,"position":4},"title":"Places of formation: Cultivating open-mindedness amongst university students","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"December 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Bethan Willis\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ed Brooks In the ongoing discussions around Brexit our relationship to place, near and far, has become a central element of our political discourse. This has perhaps fed into the burgeoning interest in the civic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2019\/12\/Unsplash-image-for-blog-post.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2019\/12\/Unsplash-image-for-blog-post.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2019\/12\/Unsplash-image-for-blog-post.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2019\/12\/Unsplash-image-for-blog-post.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2019\/12\/Unsplash-image-for-blog-post.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2019\/12\/Unsplash-image-for-blog-post.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2059,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/subjective-justice\/","url_meta":{"origin":486,"position":5},"title":"SUBJECTIVE JUSTICE","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"July 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Can bad people be good judges?[1] This question would have been unintelligible before the rise of the modern state, when moral character and expertise were deemed as inextricably linked.[2] \u00a0Personal virtue was back then the mark of a good jurist and the judicial toga signified moral exemplarity. 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