Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice Tenth Edition Chapter 4 Becoming an Ethical Professional © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Learning Objectives 1. Describe biological influences on ethical behavior. 2. Describe psychological theories that attempt to explain individual differences in behavior. 3. Describe research that addresses work group influences on behavior. 4. Explain organizational influences on behavior. 5. Explain the cultural and societal influences on ethical behavior. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Individual Influences Biological Factors Behavior depends on an individual’s biological predispositions. Learning Theories Behavior depends on the rewards an individual has received. – Modeling Theory – Reinforcement Theory Kohlberg’s Moral Stage Theory Emotional, physical, and cognitive development happen in stages © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Biological Factors (1 of 2) • Links between brain and predisposition to certain behaviors. • Research focuses on hormones, including oxytocin, serotonin, and testosterone. • Phineas Gage. • Genetic influences continue to be denied. • Oxytocin as “moral molecule.” • Are women more “moral” than men? © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Biological Factors (2 of 2) • Frontal lobes of the brain implicated in: – Feelings of empathy – Shame – Moral reasoning • Individuals with frontal-lobe damage may display characteristics related to unethical behaviors. • Research shows moral decision making seems to take place in different areas of brain. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Learning Theory Premise: All human behavior is learned; therefore, ethics is a function of learning rather than reasoning. Modeling • Imitating the behavior of others • Parents and other adults provide role models for children through their behavior Reinforcement • A behavior that is rewarded will be repeated • After enough reinforcement, the behavior becomes permanent • The individual develops values consistent with the behavior (cognitive dissonance) © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Kohlberg’s Moral Stage Theory (1 of 3) Premise: Moral development, like physical growth, occurs in stages. 1. They involve qualitative differences in modes of thinking, as opposed to quantitative differences. 2. Each stage forms a structured whole; cognitive development and moral growth are integrated. 3. Stages form an invariant sequence; no one bypasses any stage, and not all people develop to the higher stages. 4. Stages are hierarchical integrations. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Kohlberg’s Moral Stage Theory (2 of 3) • Pre-Conventional Level Approach to moral issues motivated purely by personal interests Stage 1: Punishment/Obedience Orientation Stage 2: Instrument/Relativity Orientation • Conventional Level Approach to moral issues motivat ...

1. Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in
Criminal Justice
Tenth Edition
Chapter 4
Becoming an
Ethical
Professional
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe biological influences on ethical behavior.
2. Describe psychological theories that attempt to explain
individual differences in behavior.
3. Describe research that addresses work group
influences on behavior.
4. Explain organizational influences on behavior.

2. 5. Explain the cultural and societal influences on ethical
behavior.
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Individual Influences
Biological Factors
Behavior depends on an individual’s biological
predispositions.
Learning Theories
Behavior depends on the rewards an individual has
received.
– Modeling Theory
– Reinforcement Theory
Kohlberg’s Moral Stage Theory
Emotional, physical, and cognitive development happen in
stages
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Biological Factors (1 of 2)

3. • Links between brain and predisposition to certain
behaviors.
• Research focuses on hormones, including oxytocin,
serotonin, and testosterone.
• Phineas Gage.
• Genetic influences continue to be denied.
• Oxytocin as “moral molecule.”
• Are women more “moral” than men?
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Biological Factors (2 of 2)
• Frontal lobes of the brain implicated in:
– Feelings of empathy
– Shame
– Moral reasoning
• Individuals with frontal-lobe damage may display
characteristics related to unethical behaviors.
• Research shows moral decision making seems to take

4. place in different areas of brain.
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Learning Theory
Premise: All human behavior is learned; therefore, ethics
is a function of learning rather than reasoning.
Modeling
• Imitating the behavior of others
• Parents and other adults provide role models for
children through their behavior
Reinforcement
• A behavior that is rewarded will be repeated
• After enough reinforcement, the behavior becomes
permanent
• The individual develops values consistent with the
behavior (cognitive dissonance)
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Kohlberg’s Moral Stage Theory (1 of 3)

5. Premise: Moral development, like physical growth, occurs
in stages.
1. They involve qualitative differences in modes of
thinking, as opposed to quantitative differences.
2. Each stage forms a structured whole; cognitive
development and moral growth are integrated.
3. Stages form an invariant sequence; no one bypasses
any stage, and not all people develop to the higher
stages.
4. Stages are hierarchical integrations.
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Kohlberg’s Moral Stage Theory (2 of 3)
• Pre-Conventional Level
Approach to moral issues motivated purely by personal
interests
Stage 1: Punishment/Obedience Orientation
Stage 2: Instrument/Relativity Orientation
• Conventional Level
Approach to moral issues motivated by socialization
Stage 3: Interpersonal Concordance Orientation

6. Stage 4: Law-and-Order Orientation
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Kohlberg’s Moral Stage Theory (3 of 3)
• Post-Conventional Level
Approach to moral issues motivated by desire to discover
universal good beyond own self or own society.
Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation
Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Workgroup and Organizational
Influence (1 of 2)
• Individuals sometimes behave in ways that are
contrary to their belief systems when exposed to
external influences.
• Bandura’s mechanisms:
– Moral justification

7. – Euphemistic labeling
– Advantageous comparison
– Displacement of responsibility
– Diffusion of responsibility
– Disregard or distortion of the consequences
– Dehumanization
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Workgroup and Organizational
Influence (2 of 2)
• External conditions are not all powerful.
• Bounded ethicality: cognitive structuring whereby
decisions are interpreted using variables that do not
include ethics.
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Ethical Climate and Organizational Justice
• Research explores the ability to measure the “ethical

8. climate” of an organization.
• Leadership, reward structure, and organizational
messages affect climate.
• Three basic ethical orientations:
1. Egoism
2. Benevolence
3. Principle
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Ethics Training
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
• Most professional schools require at least one class in
professional ethics
• Differences between ethics courses in college
environment and training courses offered at
organizations
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.

9. Leadership
Ethical leaders should:
1. Create environment conducive to dignified treatment
on the job
2. Increase ethical awareness
3. Avoid deception and manipulation
4. Allow for openness and free flow of unclassified
information
5. Foster sense of shared values
6. Demonstrate obligation to honesty, fairness, and
decency
7. Discuss issue of corruption publicly
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Societal and Cultural Influences
• Organizational culture is subject to external influences.
• External influences are both objective (e.g., laws and
regulations that constrain the organization), and
normative (public belief systems).

10. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Discussion Questions
1. Name as many biological factors that may affect ethics
as you can. In what ways to these factors affect
ethics?
2. Critique your own moral stage using Kohlberg.
3. Have you ever used moral justification for an action
you knew was wrong? Did you ever tell someone else
that you’d done so?