moral relativism

the belief that the morality or immorality of an action is determined by social custom rather than by universal or fixed standards of right and wrong. According to Jean Piaget, moral relativism is characteristic of children in the autonomous stage of moral development, who consider the intention behind an act along with possible extenuating circumstances when judging its rightness or wrongness. Compare moral absolutism; moral realism; situation ethics.

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Psychology term of the day

May 2nd 2024

screen defense

in psychoanalytic theory, a defense mechanism in which a memory, fantasy, or dream image is unconsciously employed to conceal the real but disturbing object of one’s feelings.