Editing Ethics (section)

=== Moral psychology ===
{{main|Moral psychology}}
Moral psychology explores the psychological foundations and processes involved in moral behavior. It is an [[empirical science]] that studies how humans think and act in moral contexts. It is interested in how [[moral reasoning]] and judgments take place, how [[moral character]] forms, what sensitivity people have to moral evaluations, and how people attribute and react to [[moral responsibility]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Doris|Stich|Phillips|Walmsley|2020|loc=Lead section, § Introduction: What Is Moral Psychology?}} | {{harvnb|Thoma|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SqBhCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA230 230–231]}} | {{harvnb|Rudy-Hiller|2022|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=j81kEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA509 509]}} }}</ref>

One of its key topics is [[moral development]] or the question of how morality develops on a psychological level from infancy to adulthood.<ref>{{harvnb|Puka|loc=Lead section, § 1. What It Is}}</ref> According to [[Lawrence Kohlberg]], children go through different [[Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development|stages of moral development]] as they understand moral principles first as fixed rules governing reward and punishment, then as conventional social norms, and later as abstract principles of what is objectively right across societies.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Linn|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vayVldaXP-0C&pg=PA330 330]}} | {{harvnb|Eysenck|2004|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rU9MRvYIh5YC&pg=PA586 586–588]}} }}</ref> A closely related question is whether and how people can be [[Moral education|taught to act morally]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Meyer|2023|loc=Abstract, lead section}} | {{harvnb|Matsuba|Murzyn|Hart|2011|pp=181–182}} }}</ref>

[[Evolutionary ethics]], a closely related field, explores how [[Evolution of morality|evolutionary processes have shaped ethics]]. One of its key ideas is that [[natural selection]] is responsible for moral behavior and moral sensitivity. It interprets morality as an [[adaptation]] to [[evolutionary pressure]] that augments [[Fitness (biology)|fitness]] by offering a selective advantage.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Schroeder|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Mesoudi|Danielson|2008|pp=229–230}} | {{harvnb|Rice|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YRcAVvmE6eMC&pg=PA153 153]}} }}</ref> [[Altruism]], for example, can provide benefits to group survival by improving cooperation.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Rice|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YRcAVvmE6eMC&pg=PA153 153]}} | {{harvnb|Post|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PnP6yF_3gfYC&pg=PA118 118]}} }}</ref> Some theorists, like [[Mark Rowlands]], argue that morality is not limited to humans, meaning that some non-human animals act based on [[moral emotions]]. Others explore evolutionary precursors to morality in non-human animals.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Monsó|Benz-Schwarzburg|Bremhorst|2018|p=283}} | {{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2017|pp=1151–1152}} }}</ref>