An Interactional Dual-Process Model of Moral Decision Making to Guide Military Training

On moral grounds: Moral identity and moral disengagement in relation to military deployment

Following Blasi's self-model of moral functioning, this exploratory study aims to gain insight into the construction of moral identity among military professionals experiencing daily moral dilemmas during deployment. Semi-structured interviews with 45 servicemen were content-coded and analyzed, exploring relationships between moral identity and verbalized moral disengagement. The results revealed three patterns, giving direction for further research. First, the analyses suggest that a higher moral awareness is associated with more justifications for one's own behavior. Second, leaders showed more inclination toward conscious moral identity than their subordinates. Third, the number of moral dilemmas experienced during deployment were similar for servicemen of all ranks. Moreover, critical self-reflection and self-assessment were relatively underreported across all ranks.

Surgical Training and Education in Promoting Professionalism: a comparative assessment of virtue-based leadership development in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residents

INTRODUCTION

Surgical Training and Education in Promoting Professionalism (STEPP) was developed in 2011 to train tomorrow's leaders during residency. It is based on virtue ethics and takes an approach similar to West Point military academy. The purpose of this research was: (i) to compare the virtue profiles of our residents with that of the military cohort using a standardized virtue assessment tool; and (ii) to assess the value of virtue education on residents.

METHODS

As part of STEPP, otolaryngology residents participated in a virtue-based validated assessment tool called Virtue in Action (VIA) Inventory. This was completed at the initiation of STEPP in July 2011 as well as 1 year later in June 2012. Comparison of the VIA to a military cohort was performed. Leadership 'Basic Training' is a series of forums focused on virtues of initiative, integrity, responsibility, self-discipline, and accountability. A pre- and post-test was administered assessing resident perceptions of the value of this 'Basic Training'.

RESULTS

Virtues are shared between otolaryngology residents (n=9) and military personnel (n=2,433) as there were no significant differences in strength scores between two military comparison groups and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS) residents. There was a significant improvement (p<0.001) in the understanding of components of the leadership vision and a significant improvement in the understanding of key leadership concepts based on 'Basic Training'. All residents responded in the post-test that the STEPP program was valuable, up from 56%.

CONCLUSIONS

A virtue-based approach is valued by residents as a part of leadership training during residency.

Terrorists Among Us

Support among US citizens for severe interrogation has been recognized as drawing upon utilitarian as well as on retributive motivation ( Carlsmith & Sood, 2009 ). Two studies were conducted to expand on these findings in a Swiss sample. In Study 1, participants rated the severity of different interrogation techniques, which were scaled to provide an alternative measure of interrogation severity. In Study 2, retributive motivation was manipulated by varying the terrorist past of a male suspect, and utilitarian motivation was manipulated by varying the probability that the suspect could provide valuable information. Additionally, we manipulated the suspect’s group membership. The results of the vignette study suggest that the number and severity of recommended interrogation techniques is mainly influenced by whether the suspect might provide valuable information. Whether the suspect had a terrorist past was an additional influence that, however, was primarily attributable to the suspect’s group membership: If the suspect belonged to the ingroup, participants’ harsher interrogation recommendations were affected by that person’s past, whereas recommendations were not significantly influenced by a terrorist past if the suspect was an outgroup member.

Military Psychology in Switzerland

Selection, assessment, motivation, stress, and leadership are the central research and application fields of military psychology. The Swiss Armed Forces have worked in these fields since the 1920s. However, military psychology has only been instituted in Switzerland officially since the mid-1990s. Psychologists and educators in the Psychological-Pedagogical Service of the Armed Forces give counseling and guidance to soldiers and cadre alike, while in the recruitment centers psychologically trained personnel maintain a high quality in psychological testing. Military psychological research is conducted mainly at the Swiss Military Academy at ETH Zurich (MILAK/ETHZ). The articles in this Special Issue are connected directly to the pertinent research in the fields of selection, training, and education of cadre in the Swiss Armed Forces.