Handbook of moral motivation: Theories, models ... - Sense Publishers

KARIN HEINRICHS, FRITZ OSER & TERENCE LOVATINTRODUCTIONImmoral behaviour is omnipresent: In the daily news, we read about aggressivebehaviour , delinquency, sexual abuse, assassinations and racism, sexism and all formsof persistent violence. We hear about banking bonuses, about structural injusticetowards immigrants and substantial egocentrism with respect to animals and plants.At the same time, however, we complain about a lack of civility, civil courage, care,responsibility or tolerance in everyday life or we try to find appropriate solutions toethical problems like immigration or mobbing. What is the force that pushes peopleto act morally or not? Is there a motor that inhibits morality? Is there a power that –even beyond judgment and rationality - shakes the will to be fully moral? Are theresituations or emotional states that make people forget the standards of morality thatcivilizations have developed over thousands of years?In spite of all our knowledge and progress, and partly owing to overwhelmingproblems like pollution, population increase or climate change, and economicinjustices, we are still not able to provide sufficient answers to the followingquestions:– Why don’t people act morally even though they have such great knowledge, somany insights and/or are personally concerned? And what causes them to behaveimmorally?– What prevents them from acting consistently, according to their moral judgment ,about what should be done?The editors of this handbook believe that the construct of moral motivation can – at leastpartly – answer these questions. Even though motivational psychology has achievedmany insights into what drives people to behave and to act in general, our knowledgeis much less specific about what urges us to cope with and solve moral problem sappropriately. The drive to do the good is not the same as the drive to win in sport.The need to help another is not the same as the need to perform well in a test. Andthe external conditions for maintaining a rule of justice or to take responsibility for asocially deprived person is not the same as listening to a well-known musical piece.The Handbook of Moral Motivation aims to present currently explored approachesand the state of the art in research about what drives, urges and impels humans tomoral judging and acting, as well as about the inner and outer conditions preventingus from acting consistently with our judgments or moral norms. In order to understandthe basics, it is good to be aware of Kohlberg’s, Rest’s, Colby & Damon’s, or Blasi’sK. Heinrichs, F. Oser & T. Lovat (Eds.), Handbook of Moral Motivation: Theories,Models, Applications, 1–6.© 2013 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.