Psychology of morality as a fundamental discipline in the higher education system

Abstract

The article is devoted to the formation of moral psychology as a new academic discipline, which is gradually spreading in the system of higher education of psychologists. The reasons for this process are the intensive development of the scientific direction «Psychology of Morality» and the gradual penetration of accumulated scientific knowledge into the educational sphere. Presents educational courses and textbooks on moral psychology developed by M.I. Volovikova, L.L. Dikevich, S.K. Nartova-Bochaver, N.V. Melnikova, R.V. Ovcharova, E.A. Plekhanova, A.N. Brazhnikova, S.V. Molchanov, I.N. Polshakova, O.V. Konovalova, A.A. Shevchenko. The generalized content of courses developed at Russian universities is described. Some courses and modules on moral psychology taught in foreign universities are listed. Special attention in the article is paid to the issues of ensuring an unobtrusive educational aspect of such courses through the selection of relevant empirical patterns for study. As an example, empirical data are given that confirm the importance of morality for society and the disadvantage of immorality for the individual. Risks that are important to avoid when developing such courses on a large scale are noted. The risk of making the moral bias too obvious and edifying, the risk of reducing the educational (moral) component to zero or negative values, the risk of extinguishing students interest in the course due to overload with theory. Confidence is expressed in the possibility of avoiding these risks thanks to the large volume of empirical research on moral psychology, which will make it possible to widely diversify the content of such courses, making them interesting and useful in the personal life and future professional activities of students. A conclusion is made about the benefits of further dissemination of courses on moral psychology in the education system of psychologists and educational psychologists.