Psychology - Ethical Dissonance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psychology - Ethical Dissonance - Essay Example Of course, in psychology, we have Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance that says, â€Å"If a person holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, he experiences dissonance: a negative state (not unlike hunger or thirst)† (Aronson 128). Elliot Aronson elaborated that Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance hold that the experience of dissonance is â€Å"unpleasant† and, thus, â€Å"the person will strive to reduce it----usually by struggling to find a way to change one or both cognitions to make them more consistent with one another† (128). According to Aronson, Festinger integrated the dynamic marriage between the cognitive and the motivational (128). Thus, given the Aronson review, it is just as viable to define ethical dissonance as the unpleasant experience of having two divergent ethical perspectives on the use of drugs that enhance or that claim to enhance physical and mental capacities. Following Aronson’s in terpretation on Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance, the ethical dissonance described to modify one or both ethical perspectives to make them consistent with one another because of discomfort. ... by where the individual has to struggle to modify one or both ethical perspectives within himself or herself to make his or her perspective consistent. Smith and others defined cognitive dissonance theory as a theory that â€Å"assumes that there is a drive toward cognitive consistency, meaning that two cognitions---or thoughts---that are inconsistent will produce discomfort, which will in turn motivate the person to remove the inconsistency and bring the cognitions into harmony† (Appendix G-3). Ethical perspectives, after all, are also types of cognition. My interpretation of the Gary Stix assertions on ethical dissonance is that there are three ethical perspectives on the use of drugs or medical treatments or procedures for boosting physical or mental capacities or enhancers (the focus of the Stix article was on the cognitive). The first ethical perspective holds that physical and cognitive enhancers are unnecessary, unfair, and that it is improper to use enhancers or employ medical procedures that would boost one’s physical or cognitive capacities except for such conditions like dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s patients. The premise for the first ethical perspective is not evidence but perspective. The ethical perspective assumes that enhancers do work. The assertion that the use of enhancers is unfair or that it is improper involves perception and not evidence. The second ethical perspective hold that enhancers or medical procedures that boost physical or cognitive capacities are similar to wearing eyeglasses and that we must dispense with the notion that drugs or medical procedures are only for illnesses. Related to this, Stix noted that an article from an influential journal in 2008 raised â€Å"the prospect of a shift away from the notion of drugs as a

Assn. 2 Environmental Policy & Procedures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assn. 2 Environmental Policy & Procedures - Essay Example city of Tigard, 512 US.374 (1994) the court ruled that development permits must be roughly proportional to the effects the land in question will have to the community. In this case, the applicant sought to replace her hardware store with a larger facility and pave a 39 paving store. She was granted her wish but with conditions to it. The court however ruled in her favor stating that Dolan could not be forced to give up her land without just compensation. The land disputed formed part of wetlands that Tigard wanted to improve but had unfair conditions (Durant et al, 2004). The national environmental policy act is a statute that requires all governments to integrate policy values into decision-making processes considering impacts of their proposed actions. (NEPA Homepage)This institution forces the state agencies to put in consideration the environmental factors in their decision making process but also empowers them to make informed decisions on the same. This was not in existence before (Malone, 2007).The environmental impact assessment is the heart of the implementation of the act. NEPA addresses the larger environmental problem, and has made a significant effort in addressing environmental issues. Its regulations have caused attitude and behavioral change thus leading to better agency decisions. NEPA action forcing strategies to meet their goals have raised concerns and its critics ask if force will help attain quality in the environment. Critics of this act have a problem with the procedural emphasis. All projects must pass through some procedure to determine if they will have negative or positive impact on the environment. For this to be achieved several actions must be taken. The inability for the act to have requirements to guide implementation or abandon of the project is not agreeable with the critics (Anderson, 2009). One of the victory stories is that of the construction of a parkway in Utah that would act as an alternative route to salt lake