This papers confronts the social‐psychological problem of the relation between values and persons in everyday life. For this purpose simple operational definitions, as used in psychometric work, are not adequate. There must be a clear conception of the person, as an individual, in a social setting. A model which meets these requirements, with seven components, is described. This is used to illustrate what ‘having values’ might mean. Three applications are briefly outlined.

A code of conduct relevant to relationships in mid‐adolescence is described, together with an outline of the method by which it was abstracted from interview data. Some comments on the character and significance of the code are offered.

Thus far psychology has not been very successful in integrating the feelings and emotions into its account of the moral life. In part this may be because it has lacked a clear image of the person as a sentient being. Such an image is presented here, derived primarily from depth psychology and cognitive‐developmentalism. The preconscious and unconscious ‘levels’ of psychic activity postulated by the former can be interpreted as the continuation of preoperational and more archaic forms of thinking, below or (...) behind conscious awareness. The person is more fragmented, more liable to inner conflict, than cognitive‐developmental theory generally allows. This image can be used to shed light on several problem areas in moral psychology: the theory of social action, gender differences, the nature of moral knowledge, and behavioural consistency. (shrink)

An attempt is made in this article to show how the personal changes that occur during psychotherapy are related to moral development. Therapeutic psychology suggests that the problem of alienation is central: a person can be ‘out of touch’ with his or her own experience, even though operating at a sophisticated cognitive level. During therapy a person acquires new ways of apprehending the world, others and self. The therapeutic relationship necessarily moves towards mutual respect, and may thus be regarded as (...) promoting moral restoration. There are many psychopathological features in contemporary life which work powerfully against therapeutic change; these have their basis in structural injustice and domination. (shrink)

Several aspects of the professional education of those who work in caring roles are discussed, with particular reference to dementia. Three experiential learning exercises are described, together with the opportunities they provide for moral development. Suggestions are made about the moral demands of care work, and general inferences are drawn for the practice of moral education.

A view of interpersonal morality is set out, derived in large part from psychotherapeutic practice. The key concept is that of giving free attention to the subjectivity of another, leading to the equation: free attention + free attention = moral space. Some of the historical and societal implications are explored and it is suggested that the problem of social fabric emerges as more important than that of social justice. The view presented here stands in contrast to much of Western moralism, (...) with its tendency to create ‘grand narratives’ about the right and the good; the universalistic character of such accounts has been drastically called in question by some of the theorists of postmodernism. (shrink)