Proximity Ethics: The Limits of Justice

Brag & Steal 2014Cris Wildermuth, EdD, SPHRDrake Universitywww.drake.edu/alopcriswildermuth@drake.edu

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WELCOME

Cris Wildermuth, EdD, SPHRAssistant ProfessorDrake UniversityMaster of Science in Leadership Developmentwww.drake.edu/leadership cris.wildermuth@drake.edu

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Are you ethical?

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Road Map

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Road Map

Nature of the problem

Ethical paradigms

Circles of Ethics

Evidence

The Study

Slowing down

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Flexibility

Nature of the Problem

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What is a moral dilemma?

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Unclear solution

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Significant Impact

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Hard to find “right” or “wrong” answers

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Whatever you do…

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Think of a moral dilemma• Think of a moral

dilemma related to your professional role. You may choose a fictional, albeit it possible dilemma faced by someone in your field.

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Discussion• Share your

fictional moral dilemma with a partner.

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What is the right thing to do?

• Moral dilemmas • Ethical paradigms

Ethical Paradigms18

Justice“A person’s sense of justice is what is most distinctively and fundamentally moral. One can act morally and question all rules, one may act morally and question the greater good, but one cannot act morally and question the need for justice.”

(Kohlberg, 1981, p. 296)

What is a just society?• “To ask whether a society is just is to

ask how it distributes the things we prize – income and wealth, duties and rights, powers and opportunities, offices and honors. A just society distributes these goods in the right way; it gives each person his or her due”

Sandel, 2009, p. 19

What is a just society?• “To ask whether a society is just is to

ask how it distributes the things we prize – income and wealth, duties and rights, powers and opportunities, offices and honors. A just society distributes these goods in the right way; it gives each person his or her due”

Sandel, 2009, p. 19

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Sharing our pie

RESOURCESBURDENS

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Bringing it home• What does justice mean in your

professional field?• What resources and burdens are we

talking about?

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What is just?

Immanuel Kant:What is right. Your duty.

Always.

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The Murderer• “John” asks to hide in your

basement to escape the clutches of a murderer. You agree. The murderer knocks at your door and asks: “Is John in your basement?” What do you answer?

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What is just?

Jeremy Bentham:More happiness

than pain.For more people.

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The Child• A child is hidden in the

basement of a city, lonely and miserable. If her presence in the basement brings happiness to an entire city, should she be kept in the basement?

Ursula Le Guin, “The Ones who Walk Away From Omelas”

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What is right?Carol GilliganMaximize love.Minimize hurt.Preserve relationships

The Ethic of Care

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Women & The Ethic of Care

Circles of Ethics

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Background: Code of Ethics

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What would be the first principle of YOUR Code of Ethics?

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For whom would I violate my own Code?

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yup, that’s me

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Circles of Ethics

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Why does this matter?

CAREEmpathy

relationshipsJUSTICEfairness

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Proximity• “The feeling of nearness (social,

cultural, psychological, or physical) that the moral agent has for victims (beneficiaries) of the evil (beneficial) act in question”

Jones, 1991, p. 376

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We may “think differently” about ethics as we move farther away from the center of

our circle

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“Justice” may require a certain level of “detachment”

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“Care” may require empathy and proximity

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Why does proximity matter?

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Ethics & Rationality

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Moral Intuition• An ultra fast “gut reaction” when

we are confronted with a moral dilemma.

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Reach a conclusion, then justify it.

Cheigh, 2004

Millisecond Decisions

How many decisions do you make in a day?

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Fundamental Attribution Bias

• If you are close to me, situational circumstances explain your behavior

• If you are far from me, your own will and choices explain your behavior

Jones, 1991

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Fundamental Attribution Bias

• Our own neighbor might murder someone in self defense or out of deep feelings of depression.

• A stranger on the other side of the world is just a murderer.

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Discussion• How might the

Circles of Ethics impact your Moral Dilemma?

• How might the Circles of Ethics impact your professional role?

Evidence52

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The Role of Empathy

• When empathy is increased, people make decisions based on Care, rather than Justice.• this is true even if people recognize

that their decision is “unfair.”

Batson et al., 1995

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How shall I judge you?• Tumasjan, Strobel, &

Welpe, 2011• Participants judged

their leaders more harshly in a “high distance” condition

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How guilty should I feel?• Ghorbani, Liao, Çaiköylü & Chand,

2013• People feel more guilty and ashamed

the closer they are to a moral dilemma

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Is this even an ethical issue?

• Carlson, Kacmar & Wadsworth, 2009• When people were closer to a situation

they were more likely to perceive the situation as a moral issue.

Ethical Fading: Seeing a situation as morally neutral

Tenbrunsel & Messick, 2004

The Study58

The Study• 1,300+ members of “Linked:HR”• 3 employee scenarios: Low (friend),

medium (stranger + empathy), and high (stranger) proximity

• Would you report an infraction? (not participating in an employee meeting)

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The Variables• Proximity • Gender• Managerial Status• Personality• Ease of decision making (how hard?)• Type of reasoning (“care” based or

“rule” based)

The Five Factors

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Preliminary Results: Proximity

• In general, participants significantly less likely to report a friend than a stranger.

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Preliminary Results: Gender

• Women more likely to be impartial unless we’re dealing with a friend.

• In close proximity status, women are more likely to partial.

• This effect disappears when the woman is a manager.

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Preliminary Results: Managers

• Managers more likely to report than non managers

Preliminary Results: Personality

Preliminary Results: Personality

• However, conscientiousness only matters in cases with medium or high proximity.

• When the case is distant, conscientiousness doesn’t matter.

SO WHAT? WHO CARES?

So what?

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Justice is Messy

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Your conclusions?

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A few thoughts• We often try to solve ethical issues by

simple “thou shalt not do x” solutions. • “Honesty” tests strongly correlate with

conscientiousness – but conscientiousness doesn’t always seem to matter.

• Empathy is a powerful influencer of impartial behavior.

• But then… do we always want impartial behavior?

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Don’t you want people to “Care” and consider the

specifics of the case as they solve moral dilemmas?

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BOTH Justice and Care may be needed to solve a moral dilemma

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How can you reconcile CARE and JUSTICE in your professional role?

Slowing Down74

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Six Steps for Moral Decision Making¹

1. Did you reach your decision freely?2. Did you consider alternative decisions?3. Does your decision feel authentic and

match your personal code of ethics?4. Would you publicly acknowledge this

decision? 5. Would you teach others – your children,

for instance, or those reporting to you – to make the same decision?

6. If the circumstances were different – the case less or more urgent, the people involved closer or farther from you – would you still uphold this decision?

¹Based on Simon, Howe & Kirschenbaum’s Values Clarification Model

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Think of your moral dilemma…

• How can you apply the “six steps” to help you reach a fair (justice) and compassionate (care) decision?

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Questions?

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Are you ethical?

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THANK YOU!

Dr. Cristina de Mello-e-Souza WildermuthAssistant Professor Master of Science, Leadership DevelopmentDrake Universitycris.wildermuth@drake.eduwww.drake.edu/leadership www.criswildermuth.com