Do the results of the questionnaire seem true to you?
Yes, the results of the questionnaire seem correct. I scored relatively high as it relates to the Harm/Care statistic and the Fairness/Reciprocity statistics.
Do the moral foundations and the results of the questionnaire accurately describe how you judge right and wrong?
Yes, the questionnaire does describe how to judge right and wrong. From a personal perspective I care heavily about the dichotomy of harm relative to care. Many of the questions that revolved about harm elicited the strongest responses from me. Admittedly, this is partially informed by many of the racial injustices that I have witnessed both personally and in the news. We continue to see individuals of certain races victimized in the country. What first started as an issue related directly to the African American community has subsequently reached the Asian American community. Here, these communities have experienced physical violence, racial biases and lack of opportunities. The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated many of these issues related to the Asian American community as many Americans blame China for the turmoil they are experiencing. This has caused some forms of social unrest with the nation. Hispanics on the border has also show my proclivity towards the harm vs. care element within the questionnaire. In addition, the element of fairness is also very important to me. Here, I believe the questionnaire was accurate in its assessment.
When you think about what is most important to you, can you apply this model or would you need to expand the model to describe your moral system?
Yes, with any system, it is subject to nuances that may not accurately reflect the beliefs of the individual. The questionnaire is no different in this regard. The model, I believe, accurately reflects my value for fairness and care. However, the nuances of these characteristics are not provided in the questionnaire. For example, many of these aspects require context which may not be reflected in the questionnaire. For one, the terms harm, care, fairness, and reciprocity are all terms that are broad in their definitions. This ultimately leaves it up to the individual for interpretation. As a result, the model may not reflect these nuances as it attempts to make sense of the results.
As it relates to application of the model, I do believe from a broad sense, the results can be used to influence behavior. My model has helped to narrow the overall scop of my moral system in a manner that allows me to better identify what I believe is right and wrong. However, I do believe this system could potentially change over time as I get older and experience more of life. The model appears to present a static opinion at a place and time which is beneficial. However, it is important to recognize that the results may vary as the individual grows and develops.
On the basis of the results of this questionnaire, what types of clients or issues might you expect to bring up challenges or conflicts in your human services work?
As it relates to my human services work, I anticipate challenges in which society rewards bad behavior. One element that this occurs with is the overall child support system in America. Here, many women look to weaponize their children as a means of taking advantage of the father. Here the child support system is designed to make sure both parents are involved financially in the childs life. What is occurring however is that men are being taken advantage of by women who are exploiting the system. Here, through child support, women receive what amounts to a check every month from men. This check can spend however the month chooses, which may or may not be representative of the needs of child. In many instances, women use these funds to exploit men to earn a wage that does not go the child. This is not fair to men. What is more alarming is that society does nothing to improve this system. The criminal justice system is the same way which heavily impacts African American and Hispanic children. This is significant challenge to my human service work as the prevailing forces are very difficult to overcome. In addition, these seems to be no societal desire to change or even alter these systems to improve them. This creates challenges related to social work as many humans are being unduly punished and exploited (Brevetti, 2014).
List your three most important value differences or conflicts you could potentially experience working in the human services field. Create a fictional case example in one paragraph that includes one of your most important value differences and conflicts. Next, create an imaginary collaborative discussion similar to the one on pp. 176-177 with 6-10 discussion phrases between yourself and a fictional client
1. Religious Conflict
a. A conflict can occur with religious vales in the context of human services field. For example, certain religions may reject treatment on the ground that it violates their religion beliefs. We often see this in the Christian religion where follows of televangelist like Benni Hen believe that God will heal their aliments. As a result, they believe that holy water, prayer, or other form of communication with God will help them. Unfortunately, these believers find out that the science often prevails and the ailments become worse. After they realize that prayer is not a solution the problem has become so acute that it is difficult to mitigate. Here the religious conflict causes harm as the human service professional cannot conduct their job properly.
2. Values Conflict
a. Certain countries have certain values that permeate throughout society. For example, Asian countries are more collectivistic and emphasize the group prosperity over that of individual success. America however is much more individualistic and emphasizes individual success over that of the group. This creates value conflicts, particularly for events that impact an entire nation. COVID-19 was a perfect example of this element at work. Here, American allowed individual states to decide how to handle the pandemic, whereas Asian countries took a national stance which ultimately prevailed in mitigating the impacts of the virus
3. Priority Conflict
a. Next, conflicts related to priorities may occur within the human services field. Here one service that one individual value may not be prioritized relative to other services. This also occurred in the healthcare industry due to the COVID-19. In this case certain surgeries, procedures, and other benefits where postponed in order to help those suffering from COVID. This also occurs in other human services fields as financial resources place constraints on the ability to provide services for certain individuals. As a result, certain program will inevitably be cut.
4. Fictional Case Example
a. A noted above a fiction case example occurs with religious individuals attempted to receive treatment. In certain religions, treatments associated with pills or other antibiotics are outlawed, thus causing further complications. Here, in order to properly conduct the treatment, the individual must ignore the practices of their religion. As a result, the overall mitigation efforts can come to a halt if not intervention takes place as it relates to religion.
5. Collaborative Discussion
a. Phrase 1 Client Hello, doctor I am experiencing complication with my throat. I have an inability to swallow and I am also developing hives
b. Phrase 2 Human Services Professional- What do you think cause these symptoms. Are you under any stress, have you taking any new prescriptions, etc.?
c. Phrase 3 Client- Nothing new, just took a new allergy medicine.
d. Phrase 4 Human Services Professional – Ok, I will look to conduct some tests related to your heart to make sure no complication arises
e. Phrase 5- Client- Ok thank you.
f. Phrase 6- Human Services Professional- I have reviewed your tests and it appears you may have an allergic rection to the allergy prescription, we may need to prescribe additional drugs to help
g. Phrase 7- Client Ok, my religion may not allow me to accept additional drugs
Conclusion
In conclusion, moral values often vary between individuals. In many instances these values cannot be encapsulated within a questionnaire. Individuals often have nuances that change over time and can crate a new moral compass to guide their overall behavior. This can be cause be stimuli including the death of George Floyd , or can simply be caused by life experiences. In many instances these variations can be complicated through international standards and cultural values as well.
References
1. Brevetti, M. (2014). Developing a moral compass: Experiences, dialogues, and reflections in parochial schools. Journal of Religious & Theological Information, 13(3/4), 59-78.
