Moral Behavior

The following TEDx Talk from Frans de Waal (2011) covers the idea that animals practice morality. Before watching this, I asked myself "Are humans the only moral beings?", to which I answered "Yes!" However, de Waal beautifully demonstrates that I am totally wrong.

You can watch his TEDx Talk here but I've provided 5 key takeaways from the video:

1. Reconciliation behaviors – de Waal (2011) describes reconciliation behavior, which he states involves a valuable relationship with someone that is then damaged by conflict, eventually leading to the thought that something must be done about it (2:09). In relation to my team’s policy project on effective time management, conflict can arise when a task is not completed on time. Since workplace tasks generally involve others, failing to practice efficient time management techniques can hinder work relationships with colleagues, hence where our policy can step in to mitigate the situation.

2. Pillars of Morality – de Waal (2011) identifies what are called the Pillars of Morality, which states morality is comprised and based on two components: Reciprocity and Empathy. Reciprocity has to do with justice and fairness and empathy is based on compassion for others (3:02). Going back to effective time management, showing mutual respect for another’s time shows a sense of fairness and compassion for others. If I complete my share of the work in a punctual manner, I expect others to show me the same sentiment and compassion that I showed them.

3. Emotional (body) and cognitive channels – Emotional channels involve syncing and/or mimicking emotions through facial expressions or body language (8:07). As a teacher, I would generally read my students’ emotions by reading their expressions and body language, and then mimic them based on how they were feeling. Cognitive channels involve seeing things from others’ perspectives (8:34). This is how I handled conflict resolution between students; rather than blaming one or the other, I saw things from both sides and formed a resolution based on what I was told.

4. Yawn contagion – One personal takeaway involved the idea of yawn contagion, which happens when one person yawns, then the other yawns too. I was amazed to see the chimpanzee seeing the animated chimpanzee yawn, then the chimpanzee yawned (9:37). I didn’t know this could happen among animals, since it happens to me and those around me all the time.

5. Inequity experiment – The experiment with the two monkeys receiving the cucumbers and grapes shows so much more (13:39). Those who receive less for doing the same exact work is so prevalent in our society, for instance with unequal pay between men and women, and has serious societal implications. It also makes me think of how others are treated in a workplace. For instance, if an African American co-worker and I are working on the same project equally yet I get more credit than my partner, it would make me question diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in my workplace.