UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Consortium on Moral Decision-Making and Moral Psychology Research Group are co-hosting a conference Nov. 15-17 to highlight interdisciplinary research on moral and ethical decision-making.

There will be two keynote talks by Penn State alumni researchers beginning at 3 p.m. on Nov. 15 in Foster Auditorium at the University Park campus. The presentations by Taya Cohen, professor of organizational behavior and business ethics, Carnegie Mellon University; and Larisa Heiphetz Solomon, associate professor of psychology, Columbia University, will be live-streamed.

Cohen will talk about moral recognition and artificial intelligence, and Larisa Solomon will speak about the psychology of redemption.

The conference will continue Nov. 16-17 in 127 Moore Building with presentations by philosophers, psychologists and social scientists in other disciplines from several universities. These will include talks by members of the Moral Psychology Research Group and their affiliates, along with faculty and students at Penn State who are affiliated with the Consortium on Moral Decision-Making.

Faculty from across Penn State will also give talks, including Sean Laurent and Terri Vescio in psychology at University Park and Evan Bradley in psychology at Brandywine; Patrick Plaisance from media studies; Lisa Silvestri in communication arts and sciences; and David Puts and Sojung Baek in anthropology.

There will also be talks by Simone Tang, Cornell University; Meltem Yucel, Duke University; Jessie Sun, Washington University in St. Louis; Kyle Law, University at Albany; Christopher Olivola, Carnegie Mellon University; and by several graduate and post-baccalaureate students.

"I’m excited to attend a small, specialized conference, where attendees have both a strong common interest in moral psychology/ethical decision-making and different disciplinary perspectives,” Sun said. 

Yucel noted that interdisciplinary study of morality has wide-ranging applications in addressing rapidly changing social environments.

"It sheds light on the mechanisms behind some of today's most pressing issues, such as immigration and religious conflict, and offers critical insights for policymakers," Yucel said. "At [the conference], I’m particularly excited to learn about the latest research in moral and ethical decision-making and to receive feedback on our recent work.”

According to consortium director Daryl Cameron, Sherwin Early Career Professor in the Rock Ethics Institute and associate professor of psychology at Penn State, the aim of the conference is to stimulate conversation and collaboration across disciplines.

“We want to establish a transdisciplinary network of researchers studying how people make moral and ethical decisions,” Cameron said. "Morality is a core problem and we want to establish Penn State as a recognized name in moral decision-making research.”

Keynote speaker Solomon echoed the need for a transdisciplinary network. 

“Morality is too deep of a topic to understand from the perspective of only one discipline, and it's exciting to learn from colleagues who approach this topic differently than I do," Soloman said. "As a Penn State alumna, it's also a special treat to come back to Happy Valley for a visit.”

Attendee Paul Davies, professor of philosophy, College of William & Mary, said the conference is ideal for theorists in the humanities and sciences of human minds and cultures and necessary for progress in knowledge and understanding.

“Philosophers who learn from colleagues in the sciences are more likely to produce theories that apply to human beings," Davies said. "Scientists who benefit from the conceptual rigor of philosophy are more likely to hit their intended targets. Such intellectual reciprocity is also immensely stimulating.”

Penn State psychology graduate student Josh Wenger agreed that the conference will be an excellent event that will bring together researchers with broad overlapping interests.

“The conference will also have an incredible amount of diversity in the more particular topics we explore, backgrounds with which we approach problems from, and, relatedly, methods we use to answer such questions," Wenger said. "It's a wonderful chance to be exposed to and engage with novel ideas, and meet people doing meaningful, fascinating work."

More details about the conference, including the finalized program, promotional materials and speaker biographies will be forthcoming. For more information and to get involved in the consortium and/or conference, contact Cameron. He hosted the Moral Psychology Research Group Conference through the Rock Ethics Institute seven years ago in fall 2017, details of which are on the consortium website.

The consortium is being supported by the Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute and The Rock Ethics Institute in the College of the Liberal Arts, with additional funding from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, Department of Philosophy and Department of Psychology.