Theories

Learning Theories in Art Education

Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

Understand the Psychoanalytic Theory

Understand the Gestalt Theory
Understand the Behaviourist Theory
Understand the Cognitive Theory
INTRODUCTION

“Creativity is the step child of psychology” (May, 1975). This statement

characterizes the historically difficult relationship existent between gifted
individuals and society and, between science and creativity research. Just so, the
creative process can be observed and described but its source remains obscure.
Psychology’s numerous philosophical orientations have each attempted a meaningful
relationship with this “step child” with varying degrees of success. This chapter
will discuss the psychoanalytic, Gestalt, developmental growth, behaviourist and
cognitive theory in relation to arts. Each of these branches holds a sharply
different view on the nature of man which reflects in each psychology’s explanation
of creativity, its source and purpose.

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

Sigmund Freud born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939), was an
Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis. Freud’s family
and ancestry were Jewish. Freud always considered himself a Jew even though he
rejected Judaism and had a critical view of religion. Freud’s parents were poor,
but ensured his education. Freud was an outstanding pupil in high school, and
graduated the Matura with honors in 1873. Interested in philosophy as a student,
Freud later turned away from it and became a neurological researcher into cerebral
palsy, Aphasia and microscopic neuroanatomy.

Sigmund Freud, founder of Psychoanalysis, had theory commonly referred to as the

iceberg theory in which he proposed to split the human into three levels of
consciousness. He said that every human had an unconscious, a preconscious, and a
conscious level to their minds. According to his theory the unconscious mind was
the largest part, but also was the hidden or repressed part.

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Sigmund Freud

Id, Ego and Superego

As is well-known, Freud divided the human psyche into three interactive components.
Wholly unconscious and the seat of powerful, instinctive drives, many of them
sexual, was the id. The largely conscious component attempting to reconcile the id
to the world outside was the ego. The third, relatively independent component, was
the superego, which internalized parental and social demands and acted as censor
over the ego’s activities. Disharmony between the three components led to mental
disorders, which could be investigated in dreams, free association sessions and
art.

According to Freud, we are born with our Id. The id is an important part of our
personality because as newborns, it allows us to get our basic needs met. Freud
believed that the id is based on our pleasure principle. In other words, the id
wants whatever feels good at the time, with no consideration for the reality of the
situation. When a child is hungry, the id wants food, and therefore the child
cries. When the child needs to be changed, the id cries. When the child is
uncomfortable, in pain, too hot, too cold, or just wants attention, the id speaks
up until his or her needs are met.

The id does not care about reality, about the needs of anyone else, only its own
satisfaction. If you think about it, babies are not real considerate of their
parents’ wishes. They have no care for time, whether their parents are sleeping,
relaxing, eating dinner, or bathing. When the id wants something, nothing else is
important.

Within the next three years, as the child interacts more and more with the world,
the second part of the personality begins to develop. Freud called this part the
Ego. The ego is based on the reality principle. The ego understands that other
people have needs and desires and that sometimes being impulsive or selfish can
hurt us in the long run. It is the ego’s job to meet the needs of the id, while
taking into consideration the reality of the situation.

By the age of five, or the end of the phallic stage of development, the Superego
develops. The Superego is the moral part of us and develops due to the moral and
ethical restraints placed on us by our caregivers. Many equate the superego with
the conscience as it dictates our belief of right and wrong.

In a healthy person, according to Freud, the ego is the strongest so that it can
satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into
consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if
the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person’s
life. If the superego becomes to strong, the person would be driven by rigid
morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the
world. You’ll learn how the ego maintains control as you continue to read.

Freud’s Iceberg Theory

According to Freud, there are three levels of consciousness:

Conscious (small): this is the part of the mind that holds what you are aware of.
You can verbalize about your conscious experience and you can think about it in a
logical fashion.
Preconscious (small-medium): this is ordinary memory. So although things stored
here are not in the conscious, they can be readily brought into conscious.
Unconscious (enormous): Freud felt that this part of the mind was not directly
accessible to awareness. In part, he saw it as a dump box for urges, feelings and
ideas that are tied to anxiety, conflict and pain. These feelings and thoughts have
not disappeared and according to Freud, they are there, exerting influence on our
actions and our conscious awareness. This is where most of the work of the Id, Ego,
and Superego take place.
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Freud’s Conception of the Human Psyche

Freud Creative Process

What is creativity? What goes on during this process? Psychoanalysis gives us

certain explanations on how this process is possible, and also on its benefits for
both its author and public.

The creative process is, according to Freud, an alternative to neurosis, that is a

defense mechanism protecting against neurosis, leading thus to the production of a
socially acceptable source of entertainment and pleasure for the public. For the
artist has the ability of turning his fantasies into artistic creations instead of
into symptoms.
The unconscious plays a major role in the act of creation. That is, the act of
creation is made possible by the libido, the energy of the id, and by a defense
mechanism considered to be the most beneficial – sublimation. By turning the sexual
desire into a cultural manifestation with the help of the ego, sublimation makes
the thoughts of the unconscious more acceptable to the conscious and it also allows
for something productive, and pleasant, for the others as well.

Art makes use of defense mechanisms such as condensation and displacement – terms
also used for work on the dream process, due to the role of the unconscious in both
creative and dream processes.

Art itself can be regarded as a defense mechanism. The artistic creation may be,
for the artist, wish fulfillment or fantasy gratification of desires denied by the
reality principle or prohibited by moral codes. Art is thus a means of giving
expression to, and dealing with, various psychic pressures. The artist can work his
fantasy – a substitute for satisfaction – by means of sublimation, into a socially
acceptable form, art, that the others can enjoy. He works out the personal in his
daydreams, fantasies into something he can share with the public.

Art is seen as a path linking fantasy and reality, the artist being able to regain
contact with reality. Freud compares the artists’ fantasies with children’s
fantasies: play involves control – keeping in touch with reality – as much as
fantasy. Similarly to a child’s play, the artist’s fantasy moulds the external
world to his desire, creating a world of fantasy where he can fulfill his
unconscious wishes.

Some believe that creativity is intertwined with repression and pain. Freud did
claim that the artists use their work to project in the outside world unfulfilled
fantasies. However, in his view, a good poem is sublimation, and not a repression.
Moreover, there is this ability of the artist to create and not become ill with
neurosis.

The Application of Psychoanalytic Theory in the Arts Teaching and Learning

As an art teacher, an understanding of the theory of psychoanalysis will help

teachers deal with students feeling and problem. The teachers must understand the
three basic techniques for treating his students, namely:

Identifying the problem. Students who are experiencing emotional stress will report
every single thing that comes to their The teachers will interpret it in a form of
conversation. The teacher is encouraged to recognize the barriers and to diagnose
problems and provide individualized interventions and services to help the student.
Transferring the emotion. The students are encouraged to direct their emotions to
the teachers. Then, the teacher will need to look to the behavior of his students.
Interpretation of dreams. Interpretations made spontaneously. The students’
unconscious condition will be interpreted like a dream. The teachers will interpret
the dreams and try to understand the problem in depth.
The art teachers are required to access and address student needs. As a natural
mode of communication for children, it is a means of externalizing the complexities
of emotional pain. One of the solutions is to perform art therapy. Children rarely
resist the art-making process because it offers ways to express themselves that are
less threatening than strictly verbal means.

In the art therapy process, children are encouraged to visually represent their
thoughts and feelings, such as conflicts, wishes, and memories. Utilizing their
artwork and verbalizations, they are helped to understand how they function as
individuals and as part of a family and group system. Art therapy treatment in
schools is art expression that lends itself to exploration, and as a result, to the
adjustment of individuals to life.

GESTALT THEORY

The Gestalt movement, pioneered by Max Wertheimer (1880 – 1943), Kurt Koffka (1886
– 1941) and Wolfgang Köhler (1887 – 1967) emerged in Germany in 1912 and, until
1933, exercised “a dominating influence on German psychology”.

Gestalt means when parts identified individually have different characteristics to

the whole (Gestalt means “organised whole”) e.g. describing a tree – it’s parts are
trunk, branches, leaves, perhaps blossoms or fruit. But when you look at an entire
tree, you are not conscious of the parts, you are aware of the overall object – the
tree. Parts are of secondary importance even though they can be clearly seen.
Gestalt is a perspective focuses on the belief that human consciousness cannot be
broken down into its elements.

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The Gestalt Perception which saw the whole is different from te sum of parts

Gestalt psychology (also Gestalt of the Berlin School) is a theory of mind and
brain that proposes that the operational principle of the brain is holistic,
parallel and analog with self-organizing tendencies, of that the whole is different
from the sum of its parts. The Gestalt effect refers to the form-forming capability
of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and
whole forms instead of just a collection simple lines and curves. Figure shows an
example of picture that contains the gestalt theory.

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What did you see in this picture? A saxophone palyer or a lady?

The word Gestalt in German literally means “shape” or “figure”. Gestalt is also
known as the “Law of Simplicity” or the “Law of Pragnanz” (the entire figure or
configuration), which states that every stimulus is perceived in its most simple
form. In German, pragnanz means clarity, so laws of pragnanz are laws of clarity.
The law of Pragnanz is also known as the law of a good figure or the law of
simplicity. The most common translation is laws of good form. A law of pragnanz
identifies an organizational tendency, a way in which the human brain decides that
things go together. Objects in the environment are seen in a way that makes as
simple as possible. The Law of Pragnanz translates into the idea that people will
perceive the best thing that are presented to them. Sometimes it is hard to follow
the law of pragnanz, which is the case of the impossible figures, or shapes
(abstract).

Gestaltists performed many researches on perception and human learning. They

believed learning is the result from good perception, which enable an individual to
form correct concept in their mind. Later on they proposed the principles of law
for perceptual organization. Henceforth, we will discuss these principles which
consisted of six principles, which are good form, figure or ground, similarity,
proximity, closure and continuity.

The Law of Good form or Pragnanz

The word ‘Gestalt’ means ‘form’ or ‘shape’. Gestalt psychologists were of the view
that psychological organization will always be as ‘good’ as prevailing conditions
allow. For Gestalt psychologists, firm is the primitive unit of perception. When we
perceive, we will always pick out form. Our perceptions are influenced by our past
experiences. This principle is also called Pragnanz Law, (Tan Oon Seng et al.,
2003)
The Law of Figure – Ground Discrimination

The Rubin vase shown in figure is an example of this tendency to pick out form. We
do not simply see black and white shapes; we also see two faces and a vase. What
about Figure 10.6? Do you see a young lady or an old lady?

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Two faces or a vase?

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Young Lady or Old Lady

The problem here is that we see the two forms of equal importance. If the source of
this message wants us to perceive a vase, the vase is the intended figure and the
background is the ground. The problem here is a confusion of figure and ground.

The Law of Proximity

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Two men and the table

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Things, which are closer together in space of time, tend to be perceived as grouped
together. Thus, if you want your audience to associate the product with the
presenter, put them close together; if you want them to perceive two ideas as
associated, present them in close proximity.

The Law of Similarity

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Trees in different shapes

Things that are similar are likely to form ‘Gestaltes’ as groups. So, in the
graphic labelled A (on the left), you probably see an X of fir trees against a
background of the others. In the graphic labelled B (on the right), you may see a
square of the other trees, partly surrounded by fir trees. The fact that, in
picture labelled with A, we see an X while in the picture labelled with B, we can
see a square, an example of good form or Pragnanz.

The Law of Closure

Perceptually, we have the tendency to fill in the gaps. In other words, we can
still read WASHO, see the square and read ‘perception” despite the missing
information. You probably know that redundancy can be deliberately added into
messages to increase the likely fidelity of reception, but the Gestalt
psychologists law of closure suggests that it certainly is not always necessary.

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Words and Shape

The Law of Continuity

When you see figure (1), you are likely to see it as consisting of two lines like
(1a), rather than of the two shapes (1b). This is the Gestalt principle of
continuity which saw a single unbroken line is likely to be seen as an entity.

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Line and Figures
 When you see figure (2), you are much more likely to see it as consisting of two
lines like (2a and 2b), rather than as the series of shapes (2c).

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Lines and Figures

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Lines and Figures

Perceptually, where figures are defined by single unbroken like, they tend to be
seen as an entity. This principle is of course of particular importance in
teaching. Even something as simple as drawing a squiggle to link up apparently
disparate elements on a page can be helpful in suggesting to the reader that they
are parts of a whole.

The Application of Gestalt Theory in the Arts Teaching and Learning

This theory applies to the brain as a whole and is not partly delivered. According
to Rudolf (1945) the appearance of the object depends on the location and the
function is viewed as a whole.

When analyzing children’s drawing, they often make modifications to the drawn
images from the observed image. According to Feldman, there are two types of images
in children’s painting:

Intracerebralimagecontained from thechildren’s observation.

b. Images displayed are drawn from children’s artistic point of view.
As an art teacher, we need to understand the validity of this theory when viewing
the images in the children’s painting. While painting, children often make
modifications to the image seen. Why is it happened? There are four factors that
influence the children to change the image drawn, namely:

The modification effect when converting the optical stimulus to the brain cerebral.
b. The modification effect of the notion in the process of finding a suitable
image.
c. The modification effect when using media images and the artistic process.
d. Children’s brain psychomotorcoordination
As an art educator, we must accept the fundamental nature of the effects of the
children. With only a spot of colour, it can create a never ending story. Thus in
childhood, we are not able to measure their intelligence by just looking at the
images in their works. Based on the statement, art teachers are not supposed to
measure the intelligence of a child based on the visual found in their drawing.

As an art teacher, observation plays a crucial role in translating each image seen
and observed. Not all pupils are able to make the same observation even though they
belong in the same age group. In art education, teachers can play an important role
in the motivation to balance the mental and cognitive of the children.

BEHAVIOURIST THEORY

Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based

upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning
occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviorists believe that our
responses to environmental stimuli shape our behaviors.

According to behaviorism, behavior can be studied in a systematic and observable

manner with no consideration of internal mental states. This school of thought
suggests that only observable behaviors should be studied, since internal states
such as cognitions, emotions and moods are too subjective. Other leading figures in
behaviorist theory are Edward L. Thorndike, B.F. Skinner, John B. Watson and Ivan
Pavlov. In this section, we will look at the application of the principles of
classical conditioning and operant conditioning

Classical conditioning

The concept of classical conditioning was developed by a Russian physiologist, Ivan

Pavlov (1849-1936). Classical conditioning is a type of learning which based on the
association of a stimulus that does not ordinarily elicit a particular response
with another that does elicit the response. From the definition, we understand that
the key element in classical conditioning is association. It means that if two
stimuli repeatedly experienced together, they will become associated. For example,
if a student frequently encounters unpleasant stimuli in Mathematics class such as
unfriendly teachers, difficult questions, and a lot of homework, he may learn to
dislike Mathematics.

Pavlov’s Experiments

Pavlov discovered classical conditioning almost by accident. Originally, he wanted

to study the role of salivation indigestion. He measured how much saliva dogs
produce when given meat. After a few days in the experiment, Pavlov noticed that
the dogs in his laboratory started salivating when the lab attendant entered the
room with the meat dish, before meat was placed in their mouth.

This aroused Pavlov’s curiosity and he pursued the issue with more experiments. For
example, he sounded a bell just before presenting his dogs with food. After hearing
the bell many times right before getting fed, the dogs began to salivate as soon as
the bell rang. In other word, the dogs had been conditioned to salivate in response
to a new stimulus (the bell) that normally would not produce salivation. The dogs
had learned to associate the bell with food. Types of Stimulus and Response are an
observable environmental event that has a potential to exert control over a
behavioural response. A response is an over behaviour by a learner. Put it in a
simpler way, a stimulus is anything that can directly influence behaviour and the
stimulus produces a response.

In classical conditioning, there are 2 types of stimulus and 2 types of response.

They are unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, and
conditioned response as explained in this figure.

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Types of stimulus and response in classical conditioning

Look at Figure to help us understand the meaning of these stimulus and responses as
well as the steps in the process of classical conditioning.

Figure Process of classical conditioningPicture1Picture1Picture1

Operant Conditioning

Operant or instrumental conditioning is a form of learning in which the

consequences of behaviour lead to changes in the probability that the behaviour
will occur. Thorndike (1874- 1949) was the pioneer in studying this kind of
learning. His famous formulation of Law of Effect lies at the heart of the operant
conditioning. The Law of Effect states that behaviour that brings about a
satisfying effect (reinforcement) is apt to be performed again, whereas behaviour
that brings about negative effect (punishment) is apt to be suppressed (Morris &
Maisto, 2001).
Types of Reinforcement and Punishment

Reinforcement is a consequence that increases the probability that behaviour will

occur. On the other hand, punishment is a consequence that decreases the
probability behaviour will occur. Put it another way, reinforcement will strengthen
a behaviour while punishment will weaken a behaviour. There are 2 forms of
reinforcement and punishment as shown in figure

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Two types of reinforcement and punishment

Take note that when something is added or presented, the process of learning is
called positive and when something is removed or taken away, the process of
learning is called negative. Table 10.15 helps us to understand these forms of
reinforcement and punishment.

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Forms of Reinforcement and Punishment

Behaviourism in the Classroom

This section describes how teachers can apply the principles of behaviourism in the
classroom. It is divided into three subsections according to the perspectives
discussed earlier that are classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social
learning theory.

Applying Classical Conditioning in the Classroom

The key element in classical conditioning is association. Therefore, teachers are

encouraged to associate variety of positive and pleasant events with learning and
classroom activities. For example, a teacher may:

Use attractive learning aids.

Decorate the classrooms.
Encourage students to work in small groups for difficult learning tasks.
Greet the students and smile at them when he comes to the classroom.
Inform the students clearly and specifically the format of quizzes, tests, and
examinations.
Make the students understand the rules of the classrooms.
Give ample time for students to prepare for and complete the learning tasks.
Applying Operant Conditioning in the Classroom

In operant conditioning, the consequences of behaviour produce changes in the

probability that the behaviour will occur. Reinforcement and punishment are the 2
main concepts in operant conditioning. The following are some examples on how
operant conditioning can be applied in the classrooms.

Recognize and reinforce positive behaviours and genuine task accomplishments.

Use various types of reinforcement such as teacher approval (praise, smiles,
attention, and pats on the shoulder), concrete reinforcement (cookies, candies, and
stationeries) and privileges (longer recess time and more time with friends).
Reinforce good behaviours and punish bad ones consistently.
Use schedule of reinforcement, such as surprise rewards, to encourage persistence.
Use positive punishment as the last option. Use negative punishment, such as
detention class, instead.
Punish students’ behaviour, not their personal qualities.
Tell the students which behavior is being punished.
COGNITIVE THEORY
The “Cognitive revolution” is the name for an intellectual movement in the 1950s
that began with what are known collectively as the cognitive sciences. It began in
the modern context of greater interdisciplinary communication and research.

The relevant areas of interchange were the combination of psychology, anthropology

and linguistics with approaches developed within the then-nascent fields of
artificial intelligence, computer science and neuroscience. Two of the prominent
figures in cognitive psychology are Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) and Lev Vygotsky
(1896 – 1934).

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The combination of cognitive revolution

The cognitive revolution in psychology was a response to behaviourism, which was

the predominant school in experimental psychology at the time. This school was
heavily influenced by Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, and other physiologists.
They proposed that psychology could only become an objective science if it is based
on observable behaviour in test subjects. Since mental events are not publicly
observable, behaviourist psychologists avoided description of mental processes or
the mind in their literature.

Psychoanalytic theories on the other hand stress the importance of the unconscious
while cognitive theories emphasize on conscious thoughts. 3 important cognitive
theories are Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory, Vygotsky’s sociocultural
cognitive theory and information processing theories.

Cognitive Psychology focuses on the study of how people think, understand, and
know. They emphasizes on learning how people comprehend and represent the outside
world within themselves and how our ways of thinking about the world influence our
behaviour.

From a cognitive learning perspective, learning involves the transformation of

information in the environment into knowledge that is stored in the mind. Learning
occurs when new knowledge is acquired or existing knowledge is modified by
experience. Among the main issues studied and discussed by cognitive psychologists
are:

The cognitive theories present a positive view of development, emphasizing

conscious thinking.
The cognitive theories (especially Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s) emphasize on the
individual’s active construction of understanding.
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories underscore the importance of examining
developmental changes in children’s thinking.
The information processing theory offers detail descriptions of cognitive
processes.
Cognitive Structuralism

Cognitive structuralism was founded by Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and other cognitive
psychologists. Whereas social constructivism was founded by Vygotsky (1896-1934).
There are several opinions related to cognitive structuralism according to
psychologists. According to Leinhardt (1992), “The awareness of interrelationships
between stimuli or the use of appropriate schemata is significant to cognitive
learning and to teaching and classroom learning”.

According to Leinhardt, Byrness, “Schemata serve several functions in learning:

categorizing, remembering, comprehending and problem solving. First, schemata or
prior knowledge links categorize our experiences more efficiently for processing.
This categorization of information facilitates the processes of remembrance
(recall), and comprehension (understanding), all of which make problem solving more
productive”.

Alba and Hasher (cf. Benjafield,) suggest that, “Schema facilitates the selection
of information based on our interests. Further, once selected, the schemas enable
the selected material to be organized abstractly and assist the individual in the
processes of interpreting and integrating the new material, based on what he or she
knows already”

Although cognitivists like Jerome Bruner and David Ausubel described ways of
utilizing schema theory in classroom learning, but their perspectives on the
structuring of prior knowledge linkages differed. David Ausubel (1968) is a
psychologist who advanced a theory, which contrasted meaningful learning from rote
learning. In Ausubel’s view, “To learn meaningfully, students must relate new
knowledge (concepts and propositions) to what they already know.”

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2.1 Art, theory, research, and best practices in teaching

For my comments on why this chapter is important for the rest of the book, please
click on the podcast below
For my comments on why this chapter is important for the rest of the book, please
click on the podcast below

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00:00
00:00
All teaching is a mix of art and science. It is an art because any teacher or
instructor is faced with numerous and constantly changing variables, which require
rapid judgement and decision-making. Good teachers usually have a passion for
teaching so the emotional as well as the cognitive side is important. In many
cases, it’s also about personal relationships, the extent to which an instructor
can empathise with students or appreciate their difficulties in learning, and the
extent to which the instructor can communicate effectively.
There is also a science of teaching, based on theory and research. We shall see in
fact there are many, often conflicting theories, driven primarily by
epistemological differences about the nature of knowledge, and by different value
systems. Then over the last 100 years there has been a great deal of empirical
research into how students learn, and effective teaching methods, which at its best
is driven by a strong, explicit theoretical base, and at its worse by mindless
data-collection (rankings, anyone?).
As well as research-based practices, there are what are known as best practices,
based on teachers’ experience of teaching. While in many cases these have been
validated by research or are driven by theories of learning, this is not always the
case. As a result, what some people see as best practices are not always
universally shared by others, even if best practices are seen in general as current
accepted wisdom. Lectures are a good example. In Chapter 3, Section 3, strong
evidence is provided that lectures have many limitations, yet many instructors
still believe that this is the most appropriate way to teach their subject.
However, even the most extensively trained teachers don’t always make good teachers
if they don’t have the talent and emotional connection with learners, and untrained
teachers (which covers virtually all university instructors), sometimes succeed,
even with little experience, because they have a knack or in-born talent. However,
although such instructors are often held up as the triumph of art over science in
teaching, they are in practice very rare. Many of these untutored, brilliant
instructors have learned rapidly on the job by trial and error, with the inevitable
casualties along the way.
For all these reasons, there is no one best way to teach that will fit all
circumstances, which is why arguments over ‘modern’ or ‘traditional’ approaches to
teaching reading or math, for example, are often so sterile. Good teachers usually
have an arsenal of tools, methods and approaches that they can draw on, depending
on the circumstances. Also teachers and instructors will differ over what
constitutes good teaching, depending on their understandings of what knowledge is,
what matters most in learning, and their priorities in terms of desirable learning
outcomes.
Nevertheless, these apparent contradictions do not mean that we cannot develop
guidelines and techniques to improve the quality of teaching, or that we have no
principles or evidence on which to base decisions about teaching, even in a rapidly
changing digital age. The aim of this book is to provide such guidelines, while
recognizing that one size will not fit all, and that every teacher or instructor
will need to select and adapt the suggestions in this book to their own unique
context. For this approach to work, though, we need to explore some fundamental
issues about teaching and learning, some of which are rarely addressed in everyday
discussions about education. The first and probably most important is epistemology

Moral theories pdf

" In other words values describe what is important in a person's was observed in
abstract assessments of the moral relevance of foundation-related concerns such as
violence or loyalty (Study 1), moral judgments of statements and scenarios (Study
2), sacredness reactions to taboo trade-offs (Study 3), and use of foundation-
related words in the moral texts of religious sermons (Study 4). And, anyway,
believers in it view, there would be no universal moral prohibition against
deliberately killing another human if so doing would produce a greater balance of
good over evil than any other course of action open at that time. Robinson PhD
Brisbane Graduate School of Business Queensland University of Technology PART ONE –
ETHICS1 Whenever a manager asks the question "What is the right thing to do?” he2
is searching nitivism-Are moral judgments capable of truth and falsity? (2)
Theories of truth-If moral judgments do have truth values, in what sense? (3)
Objectivity-In what ways, if any, does the existence of moral properties depend
upon the actual or possible states of mind of intelligent beings? (4) Reductionism-
Are moral proper- followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents.
” He claimed that governments exist in order to secure these rights, although they
might fail to do so. We will cover each one briefly below with explanations and how
they differ from other moral theories. He detailed the structure of
transformational leadership to include: 1) idealised behaviours (walking the talk),
Personality Theories: History • Grand Theories (Freud, Jung, Adler) – Attempted to
explain all behavior • Most theories at this time contained a: Core (what we have
in common) – Periphery (what makes us different, and what sorts of differences are
important) • Often, grand theories are highly influential, yet difficult to test.
Consequentializing Moral Theories* DOUGLAS W. February 13, 2017. beliefs about
moral obligations (Ianinska & Rocco, 2006). ” Such talk might imply that conscience
is a source of moral knowledge about what to do. We present a new “reason-based”
approach to the formal representation of moral theories, drawing on recent
decision-theoretic work. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development. Further reading
that moral thinking or reasoning exists as social capital, and it is not a guide to
moral action (Kang & Glassman, 2010). King and P. 4. Moral Theories in the History
of Bioethics Moral theories are the bulk of the history of ethics, but at the birth
of bioethics in the late 1960s, they were highly discredited in the moral debate.
Full text views reflects the number of PDF downloads, PDFs sent to Google Drive
Human properties,cognitive,moral agency,sentience and relationship. PHR-102
Contemporary Moral Issues is an introduction to applied or practical ethics. Act
utilitarianism (AU) is the moral theory that holds that the morally right action,
the act Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development English 10 LEVEL
STAGE/CHARACTERISTICS Preconventional At this level individuals obey because
authority figures tell them to obey. It did not At times, some of the ethical
theories may seem overly philosophical for our purposes; we may even wonder why we
should study theories that were sometimes widely agreed that a theory is
teleological if it justifies the right, moral duty, moral theory was clearly of
this sort For Mill, a act is wrong if a coercive rule against 19 Jun 2012 Munich
Personal RePEc Archive. edu This document is in PDF format and can be found at www.
ASCD PANEL ON MORAL EDUCATION Moral Education in the Life of the School An ASCD
panel urges schools to join with parents, the mass media, and the community to
define and teach values such as justice, altruism, diligence, and respect for human
dignity. The counterintuitive implications of the established views are a surface
manifestation of their lack of a deep structure. 3. PDF | Although moral
development has been studied from a variety of psychological perspectives,
including learning theory, psychoanalysis, and others, current studies of moral
development have The following is an excerpt from article DE197-1 from the
Christian Research Institute. Musgrove, writing nearly a century later, noted that:
Because of the precarious nature of current moral meaning there will always be a
tension between contemporary morality and what a few feel ought to be (1978, p.
There are three major categories of ethical systems that students typically learn
about in philosophy classes: consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics.
Thisshouldnotbetaken to meanthat thereis Moral Implications of Rational Choice
Theories J. conforming to a standard of right behavior. Providing an introduction
to moral theory that explains and critically examines the theories of such
classical moral philosophers as Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Bentham, Mill, and Ross,
this THEOLOGY/ GENERAL MORAL VALUES 4. For any society (or school) to exist, its
members (students, teachers, and administrators) must share a number of moral
virtues: they must be honest, responsible, and respectful of one another's well-
being. Moral imagination, as defined by Minette Drumwright and Patrick Murphy, is
the ability to be simultaneously ethical and successful by envisioning new and
creative alternatives. 8/30/2018 Critical Thinking - HENRY SIMONI-WASTILA Notes on
Critical Thinking David Mays 9 Ethical theory serves as the foundation for ethical
solutions to the difficult situations people encounter in life. Motivation is a
process that starts with a physiological or psychological need that Annotated List
of Ethical Theories The following list is selective, including only what I view as
the major theories. [STRIKER] Greek Ethics and Moral Theory 185 to have paid so
little attention to a central problem — one that must surely have been current in
their time, given the fifth-century debates about, for example, the objectivity or
relativity of moral and legal rules. Ethics and Leadership Effectiveness Joanne
B. . 03: Good Food. Moral Judgments Should Be Logical. Aristotle argued that
morality is tied to the function of a human being. ] Reason, Sentiment, and
Categorical Imperatives Morality is based in reason. These uses often refer to
function. E. View Notes - LectureNotes-Overview of Moral Theories. Ethical theory
is applied to the philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular
issues in private and public life that are matters of moral judgment. Ciulla T he
moral triumphs and failures of leaders carry a greater weight and volume than those
of nonleaders (Ciulla, 2003b). Moral Rights are believed to exist independently of
legal systems and governments. capable of right and wrong action. I will argue (in
section 2) that central features of Kant’s “naturalistic” biological and
psychological theories the moral judgment yielded by the utilitarian theory is more
acceptable than the one yielded by an absolutist system. Developed by psychologist
Lawrence Kohlberg, this theory made us understand that morality starts from the
early childhood years and can be affected by several factors. The third, virtue
ethics, focuses upon what sort of person one wants to be. Moral Theory: An
Introduction explores some of the most historically important and currently debated
moral theories about the nature of the right and good. For aretaic moral theory it
is the notion of actions expressing certain exce-llences of character. Before
presenting the social cognitive theory of morality, the cognitive structural
conception will be analyzed briefly. Print out the chart of basic approaches to
ethical theory from my website (which I use instead of Canvas). Furthermore, modern
ethics is after all a de- Full text Full text is available as a scanned copy of the
original print version. The moral universalism-relativism debate Katinka J.
Abstract. • Cultural relativists appeal to anthropological data indicating that
moral rightness and wrongness vary from place to place and that there are no
absolute or universal moral standards that could apply to all persons at all times.
Project Part 1 An Introduction to Ethical Theories ITT Technical Institute,
Hanover MD Mathew Leetch HU4640 Ethics July 22, 2015 An Introduction to Ethical
Theories Abstract This paper is going to discuss Ethics and Ethical Theories. 2.
Care as Practice and Value. edu. The best known moral dilemma created by Kohlberg
is the “Heinz” dilemma, which discusses the idea of obeying the law versus saving a
life. First off, I will insist that our knowledge of moral behavior is contingent
upon a process called “human inquiry. 9 See www. June 2012. Be honest, do not cause
others to suffer, and be fair. In today’s module we will review the concept of
motivation and various theories of motivation. Introduction. pdf>. Theories of
Moral Development Moral development = children’s reasoning about morality, their
attitudes toward moral lapses, and their behavior when faced with moral issues.
129). • •tilitarianism - Bentham and Mill U o Utilitarianism is a consequentialist
theory. The categorical imperative is an underlying moral system based on Reason,
the integral link independent of a particular context -- it is universal. A
related, crippling difficulty is his assumption that this moral life is rendered
coherent within any given such society, at a given stage of its development, though
he speculated that it (in particular France's Republican moral code) incorporated
In order to answer this question, many prominent theorists developed theories to
describe various steps and stages that occur on the road of personality
development. Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, Natural Rights Theories, and Religious
Ethics A “utilitarian” argument, in the strict sense, is one what alleges that we
ought to do something because it will produce more total happiness than doing
anything else would.
Generally ethical principles stem from ethical theories, and when defending a
particular action, ethicists normally appeal to these principles, not the
underlying theory. A Moral theory defines terms in uniform ways and links ideas and
problems together in consistent ways (Harris, Pritchard and Rabins) MORAL
PRINCIPLES AND MORAL JUDGEMENT Introduction Over the last two decades traditional,
principle-based moral theories have come under attack from several quarters. T. It
is also interested in work that critically reflects on the plausibility and 10
10/14/2015 Basic Insights of Kantianism Ethics The only thing in the world that can
be called good without qualification is a good will. factors in the form of moral
thought and affective self-reactions, moral conduct, and environmental factors all
operate as interacting determinants that influence each other bidirectionally. The
most radical attack has been launched by so-called moral particularists according
to whom “moral principles are at best useless, and at worst Introduction to Ethical
Studies An Open Source Reader Lee Archie John G. Hartmann, professor of psychology
at the Business ethics theories include the moral principles or codes a company
implements to ensure that all individuals working in the company act with
acceptable behavior. When this distinction is made, the term morals is taken to
refer to generally accepted standards of right and wrong in a MORAL LEADERSHIP: THE
MORALITY OF LEADERSHIP 4 & & A person who is moral is concerned with the principles
of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character
(Merriam-Webster).