Rom 14:5 Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. It is increasingly clear that knowing the degree to which people view issues through a moral lens is an important predictor of a wide range of behavior. Gaining an increased understanding of the psychology of moral conviction would seem to be important if we want to better understand when people are willing to take a stand and fight for their beliefs. For example, Robert F. Kennedy once said, ‘moral courage is … the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. Each time a person stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, (s)he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.’ Moral convictions appear to provide people with the courage and motivation they need to become involved in creating a better and more just world. Learning more about the psychology of these variables therefore has considerable promise to enhance our understanding of constructive civic engagement and involvement. That said, history is also replete with atrocities that were justified by invoking the highest principles and that were perpetrated upon victims who were equally convinced of their own moral superiority. Justice, the common welfare, universal ethics, and God have each been used to justify any variety of forms of oppression, murder, and genocide (Mischel & Mischel, 1976). Given that strong moral convictions are associated with accepting any means to achieve preferred ends, gaining more insight into the psychology of how and why moral convictions promote constructive, but potentially also quite destructive forms of political involvement, is a critical agenda for continued scientific investigation. google.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuic.edu%2Flabs%2Fskitka%2Fpublic_html%2FCompass_MC.pdf&ei=a1gpU9rvGMb1kQWr-oH4CQ&usg=AFQjCNH1W1-z6JkobNy4r1V0L6o89m9JCw&sig2=A8zR6a2-tFPza5RtmPLWiA&bvm=bv.62922401,d.dGI&cad=rja
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:55:50 +0000