Fire Service Ethics Chapter 3 Influencing Behaviors

37 38 Chapter 3 Influencing Behaviors Human interaction is complex and very often judged subjectively. Continue to evaluate the actions of others based first on their conformity to social expectations, and then how we as individuals perceive, an action, outcome, and intent. By judging our own actions, we are guided by more complex system of behavioral influences. This influence can be center, antagonistic, and competitive. Behavioral motivation: Values, beliefs and attitudes, shape or behavior. The form and extent of their influences are a large degree determined by motivation behind our behavior. Can be reflective or random with no specific purpose. These influences can be described as inward or outward focused. 1. INWARD MOTIVATION: seek to meet perceived needs or wants 2. EXTERNAL MOTIVATION: rooted in a sense of responsibility to someone or something. Needs and wants: 1. NEED: Object work condition for which negative consequences will occur in its absence example food. 2. WANT: behavior motivator based on the perception that achievement will bring a highly desired outcome. Example pizza because it tastes good. Needs of attainment beyond those of avoidance. 3. HUMAN NEED: human must have in order to live a recognizably human life 1943, Maslow “a theory of human motivation “sought to identify categorize, and to some extent prioritize human needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, humans we have needs that can be categorized as: Physiological: breathing, food, water, sleep, psychological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. A. Self-actualization: morally, creativity, problem-solving, accepting facts. B. Esteem: achievement, respect to others C. Love/ belonging friendship, family, sexual intimacy D. Safety: security of Body, employment, family, health E. Physiological: breathing, food, water, sleep, 39 40 41 Our need for friendship, achievement, respect, and autonomy are real, and they are powerful motivators. 4. INTEREST: between need and attainment. Directly related to a need for example healthcare. 5. PROXIMITY OF INTEREST: need affects our understanding of ethical attachment. 6. PROXIMITY: example is somebody who’s not hungry steals money in order to avoid future, hunger, and illicit no sympathy. States of competing priorities: 1. Independence: needs, wants and responsibilities have relatively little impact. Example I want to go to shift party, but I want to go to bed early. 2. Competitive: knees and are mutually exclusive. Negative impact on its counterpart. I want to go to a shift party, but I’m committed to go to training class at the same time. 3. Aligned: action springing from a need or want and supports other needs. I want to go to shift party, but I am committed to cook at the party. Wants: Desire for an object of condition for which there is no interest  Rarely justifiable and motivation for behavior Ethics and responsibility:  Need and want to reflect internal motivations. 1. ETHIC ATTACHEMENT: Your actions have no impact on another individual, it would logically be considered ethically, neutral, or unattached Morality is rooted in values and is independent of intentions, consequences, and obligations Responsibility, relationship variants: 1. ACCOUNTABILITY: Degree to which you meet that ethical requirement will be measured by how well you meet the behavioral expectation of others.  Accountability: is a form of responsibility, focused on other people.  Measures responsibility to people’s judgment.  Method of assuring performance of an obligation.  More or less external intense to be well defined or objective 2. OBLIGATIOINS: responsibility to some tasks or ideal. A sense of duty.  Motivate our behavior and significantly influence, our judgment of the behavior of others  Measures the depth of a responsibility  Comes from within and is objectively influenced by values and beliefs 3. OBJECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY: imposed, externally, countability attached, clearly defined and represents expectations imposed on us within our relationships. For example, obeying the law or telling the truth. Arise from the values and beliefs of those with whom we interact into whom we 42 45 are accountable. 4. SUBJECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY: imposition of expectations from within. Arises from values and beliefs. Example may feel they have to save money for college. Shaping behavior: our internal guidance system 1. VIRTUE: Habit or an acquired character quality that is deemed universally good.  Life is based on virtue is a fundamental to human happiness and enlightenment.  Moral or can be intellectual - Moral virtue: one that is for virtuous in action - Intellectual virtue: one that is virtuous and thought, such as modesty, humility, curiosity, acceptance  Key quality of given virtue is that once acquired it becomes a character element  Virtues can singularity identify our characters  Aristotle credited as being the founder of the school of virtue ethics. - Person who possesses many virtues tend to act and away that are consistent with moral principles and ethical person - Argued that the greatest virtues are those that are almost most useful to other persons  Virtues are not developed in isolation, they reflect the values of a community, culture and family  Virtues, coupled with values: make up self-identity 2. VALUES: Collection of virtues, principles, standards, or qualities that an individual or group hold in high regard.  Consider to be worth an importance  Important part of maturation process. For example, most important shapers were parents and teachers.  “Our formative years “reflect the importance that social psychologist place on value shaping during early childhood.  As we get older and mature, influences of religion, art and peers continue to shape our value system along with personal experiences.  Commonly held values: family, patriotism, friendship, safety, heritage.  Come and value, including interacting with others: for two of honesty, compassion, loyalty, and generosity Differences between virtues and values: virtue defines the perimeters of actions. We feel are acceptable values act is a filter and how we see the world they focus on what is important to us and shape what we see is truth. 3. BELIEFS: those things that we believe to be true. Connection between truth and ethics is essential.  Actions are based on an anticipated outcome  Opinions of others are based on assumption of understanding.  Several influences of beliefs: - Learned behavior: to function as a society, there is a necessity for truth. Learn behavior account for the majority of those things we believe to be true, at least likely to be deeply imprinted. Can be modified by new or credible knowledge. - Cultural influences and beliefs held as true because they are ingrained in our cultural understanding or rooted in tradition. - Personal experience and beliefs: more than any other influence, personal experience, both shape, new beliefs, and reinforced existing ones. 4. ATTITUDES: Collection of feelings, beliefs, and behavior, tendencies, directed towards specific people, groups and ideas. Influenced by family, friends and experiences. They synthesize our general concept of right and wrong the justifiable and the inexcusable. Categories of belief: 1. DESCRIPTIVE BELIEF: Presents truth as we see it. Example Firefighter save lives and protect property. 2. EVALUATIVE BELIEF: Judgment rooted in a descriptive belief. Example Firefighter is essential to the well-being of a community. 3. PRESCRIPTIVE BELIEFS: expression of justifiable outcome, and is based on either descriptive or more likely a evaluative beliefs. Example would be local government should fully fund the fire department. What we hold true, beliefs are closely tied to our values. 46 48 3 Components of attitudes: 1. COGNITIVE COMPONENT: Encompasses your thoughts and beliefs about a particular subject. It’s what you believe to be true. 2. AFFECTIVE COMPONENT: emotional response to an event, person or idea. 3. BEHAVIORAL COMPONENT: your attitudes define “proper” responses to life experiences as a relate to your attitudes. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: feeling of discomfort we feel when we perceive an inconsistency among values, beliefs, and attitudes.  The amount of dissonance felt depends on several factors. - Two most important variables: amount of inconsistency between beliefs, and the relative value placed in the belief. - When there is a high degree of dissonance, there’s a greater need for realignment of beliefs and attitudes  Number of mythologies to remove dissonance: 1. Develop new beliefs that refute the dissonant belief or behavior. 2. Reduce the importance of a conflicting belief 3. Change the conflicting behavior so that it is consistent with other beliefs or behaviors.  Most effective way to deal with dissonance.  “The urgency of need and the relative strength of the involved values and beliefs, determine the malleability of our ethical principles. “ The Moral GPS unit: Encouraged to act either from a sense of responsibility or an attempt to meet some need.  Moral navigation apparatus is a complex instrument. Provide suggestions rather than guidance and even then suggest can be malleable to the point of unreliability.