Ethical decision

In the context of decision making, ethics are personal standards of right and wrong. They are the basis for making ethically sensitive decisions.

Ethics vs. morals

The words "ethics" and "morals" are frequently used interchangeably.

Ethics refer to behavior customary in our culture or society. Ethics may change as a person moves from one society to the next.

Morals refer to personal standards of right and wrong. Morals do not change as a person moves from one society to the next.

Development of ethical decision-making

Ethical decisions come from a place of conscience. For many, conscience is simply an internal source of reward and punishment. But according to researcher Lawrence Kohlberg, conscience is only one of several ways in which [ethical] values are represented in the personality. Kohlberg believes there are higher levels of moral development and these are acquired in stages.

Preconventional

According to Kohlberg, punishment orientation is the stage in which actions are evaluated in terms of possible punishment, not goodness or badness. Obedience to power is emphasized. Similar to this is pleasure-seeking orientation in which right action is determined by one's own needs. Concern for the needs of others is largely a matter of potential reciprocation, not of loyalty, gratitude or justice.