Obstacles and barriers that affect a persons moral values - Essay Example

Obstacles and barriers that affect a person’s moral values: This paper is based on a highly sensitive issue that deals with the major obstacles and barriers that force a man to deviate from a standard moral value system in myriad social situations. Seemingly, little deviation has no remarkable disasters associated with it but practically, it is potentially capable of shaking the roots of a social system. The tendency to fall for glittering temptations based on self-satisfaction should be abandoned the very first time any unjustified action occurs by a person, which contradicts with the personally or socially accepted ethical standards.

Still, this is an unequivocal fact some obstacles are astounding in their power to cause people openly breach their moral value system. (Messick & Kramer, 2005, p.175) suggest that personal moral value system is actually based on a set of internal representations designed by one’s conscience. One of the reasons people tend to deviate from their moral value systems is the ultimate urge to satisfy their materialistic needs. This system directs people to judge the right and wrong behaviors in social contexts.

Breaching these personal moral values may bring on the feeling of guilt later, which is predictive of deviation from the moral principles. Moral value system varies from person to person and rules are broken depending on the interaction of a person’s moral values with the moral context of different societies. It is commonly observed today that more and more people have started to base their relationships on materialistic approach. Such people breach their moral values with great facilitation whenever the wild and flagrant temptation to acquire some luxury stifles the voice of moral conscience.

It is an acclaimed fact that the materialistic approach has become a major obstacle presently that profoundly affects a person’s moral values and mutilates them in a very crude fashion. Greed for exceptional power and social status is the emotion that brings defiance, rebellion, and criminal tendency in full swing, thus inducing a person to breach the moral values due to which the societal structure gets heavily impacted in a notorious way. Oppressing or controlling the weak or poor people also seems to be an ultimate aphrodisiac for some people.

This aphrodisiac or temptation becomes a major hurdle consequently in making a person breach his/her moral principles. A person may be found coming on really strong with harsh criticism on a junior subordinate or any person who doesn’t appear to be strong enough to fight back. After sometime, a feeling of regret or guilt may dawn on the oppressive person, which indicates that he/she has realized the personal code of morality from which he/she has deviated for the time being. The personal moral value system is strongly related to the enthusiasm with which people follow certain rules or principles designed by the authority.

A person’s rule-following behavior is dependent upon the personal moral value system. A personal moral code developed through sensitivity, care, and art can help one in overcoming the temptations to break the moral values. Development of high moral values and not deviating from them prevents one from engaging in socially undesirable activities. Fear of authority also helps in making a person strongly abide by the personal value system. This is the reason children are at less risk of deviating from the personal moral values because their elders want them to do so.

Reference: Messick, D.M. & Kramer, R.M. (2005). The psychology of leadership: new perspectives and research. Illustrated. Routledge.