Psychology Department Colloquium

The Psychology Department would like to extend an invitation to a colloquium on Friday, February 17, at noon in Porter Hall 102. Our guest will be Dr. Robert Kurzban of the University of Pennsylvania. Details of his talk are below:

Title: Strategic Morality

Abstract: Current evolutionary theories of morality maintain that the adaptations that underlie moral judgment and behavior function to deliver benefits (or prevent harm) to others. I''ll discuss three lines of research built around an alternative view. The first set of experiments illustrates that kin selected systems are moral systems are not only distinct, but occasionally work in opposite directions. The second set of experiments illustrates that construing morality strategically helps to explain a previously puzzling phenomenon known as the "omission bias." The third set illustrates how differing moral intuitions can be explained in terms of differing fitness interests. Together, these results point to a different function for morality other than altruism, and point to a potential strategic function.

Campus: Athens
Location: Porter Hall 102
Contact: morrisoa@ohio.edu