Moral decision making of students in different fields of study

Najutjecajniji pristup istraživanju moralnog ravoja u psihologiji predstavljaju kognitivno razvojne teorije. One u središte interesa postavljaju moralno rasuđivanje i procese uključene u donošenje odluka vezanih uz moralne dvojbe. Začetnik toga pristupa je JeanPiaget. Nastavljajući se na Piagetov rad, Lawrence Kohlberg, razvija teoriju moralnograzvoja koja je do danas najutjecajniji model ljudskog moralnog razvoja. Prema njoj,moralno rasuđivanje osobe prolazi tri razvojne razine, sa dva stupnja na svakoj. Uvidjevši nedostatke Kohlbergove teorije koja moralno ponašanje svodi na varijablu moralnog rasuđivanja, američki psiholog James Rest razvija četverokomponentni model moralnog odlučivanja. Prema njemu, moralno odlučivanje uključuje četiri različita psihološka procesa: moralnu osjetljivost, moralno rasuđivanje, moralnu motivaciju i moralni karakter.Odlučivanje je prisutno u svakodnevnici svakog čovjeka. O odlučivanju se govori uvijek kada treba identificirati i odabrati alternativne tokove djelovanja na način koji je primjeren situaciji. Kompetencija moralnog odlučivanja je sposobnost osobe da donosi moralne prosudbe na temelju unutarnjih principa te da se ponaša u skladu s njima. Moralno odlučivanje reflektira subjektivnu i emocionalnu evaluaciju problema. Određeni uvjeti mogu stimulirati odnosno doprinositi napredovanju moralnog razvoja, pa tako i moralnog odlučivanja osobe. Među njima su intelektualni razvoj i konkrentna socijalna i edukacijska klima. Brojna istraživanja kod studenata pokazuju kako je značajno napredovanje moralnog razvoja povezano sa samim pohađanjem fakulteta. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati razlikuje li se moralno odlučivanje kod studenata pravne, zdravstvene, društvene i humanističe studijske orijentacije te utvrditi mijenja li se ono u funkciji godine studija.Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 385 studenta preddiplomskih i diplomskih studija,15 različitih studijskih usmjerenja od kojih 83 muškarca i 302 žene. Prosječna dob uzorka je 23 godine. U ispitivanju je korišten upitnik moralnog odlučivanja. Istraživanje je pokazalo da postoji razlika u indeksu moralnog odlučivanju između studenata pravnog i zdravstvenog te pravnog i društvenog studijskog usmjerenja. U korigiranom indeksu moralnog odlučivanja postoji razlika između pravnog i zdravstvenog studijskog usmjerenja. U oba slučaja studenti prava imaju manje indekse. Nije dobivena razlika u moralnom odlučivanju s obzirom na godinu studija. Nadalje, studenti različitih godina studija i studijskih usmjerenja ne razlikuju se u moralnosti odluke. Dobivena je razlika u sigurnosti odluke između studenata koji su više ili manje birali moralnije odluke. Studenti koji su imali srednji broj moralnih odluka su imali manju sigurnost odluke u odnosu na studente koji su imali najveći broj moralnijih odluka.Cognitive-development theories present the most influential approach to the study of moral development in psychology. Those theories put spotlight on moral judgment and processes involved in decision making when person is faced with moral dilemma. The pioneer of that approach is Jean Piaget. Continuing on his work, Kohlberg developed his theory of moral judgment. Up until today it is one of the most influential models that describe human moral development. The theory holds that moral reasoning has three identifiable developmental stages and each of them has two stages. James Rest saw imperfections in Kohlbergs theory,such as defining moral behavior only in terms of moral judgment, and thats why he developed a four component model of ethical decision making. According to him, moral decision-making includes moral sensitivity (awareness), moral judgment (reasoning),moral motivation, and moral action. Decision making is a part of our everyday lives. It is a process which consists of identification and choosing alternative ways of action depending on the situation. The competence of moral decision making is the ability of a person to make moral choices based on their inner principles and acting along with them. Moral choice is a reflection of subjective and emotional evaluation of a problem. Certain things can stimulate moral development such as intellectual development and good social and educational environment. Many studies in students show significant gain in moral development linked with going to college. The aim of this study was to examine whether moral decision making differs between students of different academic orientations and through college years. The study included 385 students (83 men and 302 women) of 15different academic orientations. Mean age of the sample is 23 years. To asses moral decision making-moral decision making test was used. The results showed that there is difference in the moral decision making index between law and health-care students and between law and social study students. In the adjusted moral decision making index, the difference was found between law and health care students. In both cases law students had smaller indexes. No difference was found in moral decision making considering the year of college. Furthermore, students of different study orientations and years of college did not differ in the morality of their decisions. The results showed that students who had a moderate number of moral decisions also had a smaller percentage of certainty in their decision in comparison to students who had the largest number of moral decision