The Role of Value Priorities and Professional Ethics Training in Moral Sensitivity

This study investigated the sensitivity to moral issues from a story in a professional context and development of the ability to interpret moral situations in a sample of 50 social psychology students participating in a one-semester course on professional ethics. The relationships between initial value priorities measured by Schwartz Value Survey (1992) and moral sensitivity were also explored. Nearly half of the respondents (46%) progressed on sensitivity from the pre-test to the post-test, whereas the control group's ( n = 6) mean score declined significantly. Younger respondents and those without any previous degree progressed more in moral sensitivity than older ones and those with previous degree. No gender differences were found in the total moral sensitivity score. However, females and males seemed to focus partially on different issues while interpreting the situation. Concerning the value priorities, respondents with higher regard for the power, hedonism and stimulation value types were lower on sensitivity, whereas the universalism value type was positively related to the sensitivity level.