PB2A (3-5)

Research Q's

How does the morality of a person change over time when exposed to traumatic events?

Is pure evil the ‘thing’ that drives violence?

Does belief in pure evil determine the aggression of a person? If so, in what ways?

How would outsourcing morality to artificial intelligence impact interaction in society?


Key terms:
pure evil
morality
trauma
violence
agression
artificial intelligence
society

Citations:

• Bain, D. (2013). What makes pains unpleasant? Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition, 166(S1), S69-S89. doi:10.1007/s11098-012-0049-7

• Dayton, C. J., & Malone, J. C. (2017). development and socialization of physical aggression in very young boys. Infant Mental Health Journal, 38(1), 150-165. doi:10.1002/imhj.21622

• Shank, D. B., & DeSanti, A. (2018). Attributions of morality and mind to artificial intelligence after real-world moral violations. Computers in Human Behavior, 86, 401-411. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.014

• Weierstall, R., Huth, S., Knecht, J., Nandi, C., & Elbert, T. (2012). Appetitive aggression as a resilience factor against trauma disorders: Appetitive aggression and PTSD in german world war II veterans. Plos One, 7(12), e50891. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050891

• Wieland‐Burston, J. (2012). Holocaust victims and perpetrators. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 57(4), 413-424. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5922.2012.01983.x

PB2A 1&2

Forensic Psychology

Dr. Russ Webster

In this field, Dr. Webster studies prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination; belief in pure evil and belief in pure good.

Dr. Gayle Schwark

Dr. Schwark focuses primarily on cognitive and social psychology. She studies the common errors in reasoning and the impact of morality on decision making.

If had to devote my time to one those topics, it would be the impact of morality on decision making. I feel like if we were to fully understand how the brain works and how messed up thinking come about then we would better know how to assess the needs of those with such thoughts and hopefully prevent them from acting on those thoughts.