How Your Moral Principles Can Impact Your Decision Making

Have you ever wondered why you make the decisions that you do? Moral principles, which are the core beliefs and values that determine our sense of right and wrong, play a crucial role in shaping our choices and actions. If you’ve experienced that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach when you do something you know you’ll regret, it’s likely because of your moral principles, or your individual sense of right and wrong. 

What are moral principles?

Most people have a set of morals, with many having their morals at least partially tied to their culture, religion, or another external source (referred to as ethical principles). A sense of morality is one aspect of human behavior that sets us apart from other species, but it can vary greatly from one person to another. It may be helpful to explore your own moral principles, as they can influence various aspects of your life.

Defining moral principles

One definition of morals is “the principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group”. As a general rule, we use morals to guide our individual actions. They help us make decisions based on what we feel is the “right” thing to do in a given situation. Without them, we would have little rhyme or reason for why we make the choices we do—or we’d only ever make choices that take our own needs into consideration. Our decisions would likely be impulsive and with little consideration for the consequences.

Our moral rules or values often guide how we approach decision-making, address ethical dilemmas like conflicts of interest, and implement professional standards like informed consent in patient care.

Making the effort to have a clear set of moral values can affect your behavior in many ways. You might be less easily influenced to act in ways that are contrary to your values, no matter the circumstances. A strong moral principle may help you voice your opinions more readily, stand up for justice, and distance yourself from things that don’t match up with your own moral reasoning.

Moral principles in simple terms

To better understand moral principles, consider how they can guide our everyday choices. Below, we take a closer look at a few examples of how our morality can guide our decision-making in everyday life.

How moral principles guide everyday choices

You can think of moral principles as a set of guidelines that help us decide how to handle ethical issues and other situations that may arise in life. Here are a few generally accepted examples of principles a person might hold:

• Treat others the way you want to be treated and show them respect. This principle means taking the time to empathize with others and trying to see things through their eyes. While autonomy may be important, you can’t always do exactly what you want. This principle involves thinking about the situation someone else is in and considering what you’d want someone to do for you if the roles were reversed. Doing so can help strengthen equality in our country, a vital characteristic of a healthy society. 
• Speak the truth. Honesty may help us speak up for what we want and give others the information they need to make decisions for themselves. A principle of virtue like this means that you strive to avoid lying, whether to yourself or others.
• Don’t spend what you don’t have. Moral principles can even apply to how you handle your finances. These could include donating regularly to good causes, avoiding loaning money to friends so as to not complicate relationships, or not spending what you don’t have. This last one might entail living within a budget and doing your best to stay out of debt. While it may be tough, you can also benefit from having a thrifty lifestyle. 
• Keep your word. Your word should have meaning, and following through with what you say you’re going to do is another example of a moral principle. This might include honesty, but also not making promises that you can’t keep. Sticking to your word can prevent harm, both to your reputation and to your relationships. 

The above are some common examples, but moral principles are personal—something you decide for yourself. If you’re setting out to choose what yours might be, the examples listed here can at least give you a starting point. Think about how you want to approach or handle relationships, conflict, fairness, finances, etc., or the type of person you want to be when faced with hard situations in any of these realms. That exercise can guide you toward the moral principles that feel right for you.

Where moral principles come from

Moral principles shape how individuals and societies determine what is right and wrong, but their formation can be complex. 

Cultural and social influences

Culture and society can be considered two factors that contribute to the formation of ethical principles. From childhood, individuals absorb moral principles through family, education, religious institutions, and communities.

Social structures may also reinforce moral behavior through laws and shared expectations. Moral standards can shift over time as societies evolve, which may reflect changes in politics, economics, and overall societal values.

Religion can also have a significant impact on moral and ethical frameworks. Religious traditions, particularly Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, generally draw moral principles from natural law, sacred texts, or the divine, while Eastern traditions, like Buddhism, typically ground ethics in ideas like harmony, compassion, and social responsibility. 

Moral philosophy and major ethical theories

Moral philosophy seeks to examine what is right and wrong and why it matters. We explore some popular ethical theories below, including those grounded in duty, natural law, and the idea of treating others as you want to be treated.

Kant, natural law, and practical reason

Immanuel Kant argued that ethical behavior stems from rational principles that apply universally and that are independent of emotion or consequences. He believed that, because of this, it should be possible to make moral action into a universal law. 

Natural law theory, developed by Aquinas and later philosophers, holds that people can discover moral principles through reason and that morality may be part of human nature. 

Both of these frameworks emphasize practical reason or the idea that human beings are able to determine what is right through reflection rather than instinct or tradition.

The Golden Rule and the common good

One of the most widely recognized and easy-to-understand ethical principles across cultures may be the Golden Rule, which is the idea that one should treat others as one wishes to be treated. The Golden Rule is found in many of the world’s major religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It is closely related to the concept of the common good, or the idea that ethical action should benefit not just the individual but society as a whole.

Common moral values across societies

While culture and society can influence morals in various ways, some moral values seem universal, indicating that there may be a shared foundation for human ethics across various social conditions, focusing on the common good.

Universally shared moral values

Researchers have identified ten values shared by 70 cultures around the world: 

• Hedonism
• Power
• Achievements
• Stimulation
• Self-direction
• Universalism
• Benevolence
• Conformity
• Tradition
• Security

How values differ across cultures

While these core values may be common across many cultures, their interpretation and application can vary. Sometimes, these differences can seem subtle, like what some societies may see as a right, others may see as a duty. Some may emphasize group responsibility, while others may prioritize personal autonomy. Cultures may also have different attitudes toward gender roles, family obligations, and social hierarchy that can impact morality.

Moral principles and ethical decision making

There are three general frameworks for ethical decision-making, each with its own pros and cons.

The consequentialist framework

This framework focuses on the future effects of our actions, considering how they will directly or indirectly affect others. Someone who uses this moral framework is likely to be focusing on how to produce the most good. 

This approach can be beneficial in situations that affect many people, though some may benefit from the action while others may not. One challenge with this approach is that it is not always possible to predict the consequences of one’s actions, so some choices one may expect to yield good results may actually harm people. 

The duty framework

The duty framework focuses on our duties and obligations, including what things we should do and what we should never do. This type of framework focuses on doing the right thing by performing the right action. 

This framework has the advantage of focusing on an established system of rules that outlines expectations. In other words, if an ethical action is required, it would apply to anyone who is in the same situation. It also focuses on following the rules regardless of the outcome, allowing for the possibility of doing the right thing even when undesirable consequences follow. 

The duty framework also has limitations. Because everyone is expected to make the same moral choice in every situation, it can seem impersonal and even cold. Sometimes, the expected action, although considered moral, can produce harm.

The virtue framework

In the virtue framework, we try to identify personality traits that may motivate us in a particular situation. For example, we may worry about what kind of person we should be and what our actions say about our character. In this framework, ethical behavior is defined as what a virtuous person would do. 

This framework can be helpful in making sense of the world and figuring out the kind of person you want to be, but it can make it difficult to resolve disputes, as people can have different opinions about what is virtuous or ethical. Another challenge is that because this framework focuses on what role models would do, it can reinforce cultural norms rather than question what constitutes ethical behavior and moral duties.

How to be accountable: Moral principles

Sticking to the moral code you’ve set for yourself can help you live a life that’s authentic to you. Remember, however, that no human being is perfect. We’re all bound to fall short of our morals from time to time, but having them in place reminds us of what to strive for next time. To help further your moral development, consider some of the following tactics.

• Set written goals. Keeping a journal of what your goals are and how you’re progressing toward them can help you focus on accountability. For instance, you might want to perform one random act of kindness per week to practice empathy, be honest about personal boundaries when dating someone new, or save a certain amount from every paycheck. You can write each of these moral goals down and make notes regularly on how you’re coming along.
• Listen to your instincts. Another method is to stay in touch with your gut instincts. An individual’s identity can determine when they listen to their “gut.” When you’re about to do something that, deep down, you feel is wrong in the context of your principles, think twice. Our gut instincts may be trying to tell us that something about the situation we’re in doesn’t fit our personal moral code.
• Speak with a therapist. Finally, you may find it useful to speak with a therapist. While they’re not there to decide your moral code for you, they can help you get in touch with your true self and your beliefs so that you can draw conclusions about what your morals might be. They can help you examine the moral principles that parents or caregivers passed down to you, which may be outdated or based on a problematic part of history. These conversations can help you decide whether you want to keep them as part of your own code.

A mental health professional can also help you deal with any perfectionism you may have in regard to morality and learn to forgive yourself. Whatever challenges you may be facing, a trained therapist can offer a nonjudgmental, unbiased space for you to explore and work through them.

Today, there are a variety of ways in which you can connect with a mental health professional. Some find virtual therapy to be the best option for them. A 2020 study suggests that it can be just as effective as traditional face-to-face counseling, making it a “viable alternative.” Researchers also found that online therapy had other added benefits too, including “lower cost, no travel time, no waitlists, and trackable progress”. An online therapy platform like BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed therapist with whom you can meet via phone or video call and check in via chat. Remember: The best therapy method for you is the one that’s available and that you feel the most comfortable with.