Spring Ethics Workshop

“Putting the Humanity Back Into Ethical Decision-Making”

Presentation by Dr. Ryan P. Brown

Social science research on ethics and morality has exploded over the last two decades, moving the study of these topics well beyond the stage models that dominated the field for so long. This interactive workshop will explore the bourgeoning science of ethical decision-making and the role of cognitive and motivational biases in both ethical and moral choices. 

Participants will leave with (1) a better understanding of how their own humanity can drive them, both overtly and covertly, into ethical quagmires and (2) a greater ability to plan for their own humanness when making critical ethical decisions.

Ryan P. Brown, Ph.D., is the Managing Director for Measurement at the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University, where he conducts research on the impact of interventions to enhance students’ leadership abilities. Previously, he was the L. J. Semrod Presidential Professor of Psychology at the University of Oklahoma, where he taught social psychology for almost 20 years. Ryan has published over 50 articles and chapters on a wide range of topics, including rationalization, narcissism, ethical decision-making, and the role of culture in mental health. He is also the author of a book on the cultural ideology of honor, titled Honor Bound: How a Cultural Ideal Has Shaped the American Psyche (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Thanks to our partners at the OU Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

This course qualifies for 6 Ethics CE's