Turning Ethical Decisions into Professional Practices Ethics of Sustainability Lecture 11 Martha C. Monroe, Ph.D. Professor and Extension Specialist School of Forest Resources and Conservation University of Florida

Your Questions from Reading? Changing Behaviors Theory of Planned Behavior Diffusion of Innovation Social Learning Multi-Stakeholder Processes Learning Organizations Communication challenges Partial truths Misconceptions Risk

Today’s Discussion MSP Experience Challenges to Professional, Ethical Decisions

Challenges to Working Together People don’t share mental models –Various elements of truth –Misconceptions –Value differences What Else? –Identify a different challenge and the underlying

I Don’t Believe You… Because I have a different understanding of the world that conflicts with what you are saying –Scientific misconception New information is discarded Speaker may be discredited

Step Number 1: Talk to your audience Listen to what they say Ask them what they think And use this new knowledge to determine why they don’t believe you.

Cats Outdoors My cat is happier outside My cat won’t kill birds My cat isn’t hungry – I feed him/her Don’t tell me I’m not a good pet owner

But There are over 100 million household cats They are the second largest threat to birds Outdoor cats do kill birds and small mammals

But they might realize Cats pounce on strings and bottle caps, even when they are well fed.

Steps 2-4 Validate their ideas; they are founded on observation and experience Point out the shortcoming Provide a new explanation How to address a scientific misconception – Sharon Dunwoody, science educators

Another challenge: Partial information People may have some knowledge about the topic Factual, but may not have been designed to convey “truth” Bits of information were selected to convey ideas to benefit one perspective

Forests are better or worse? The US has more trees now than in 1920.

Forests are better or worse? The US has more trees now than in But 1920 was the height of forest clearing in Eastern US.

Forests now and the future? In the US, five trees are planted for every one harvested. Forests are healthy. Globally we are losing forests at a substantial rate million hectares a year, an area about the size of England. Forests are in trouble.

Forests now and the future? In the US, five trees are planted for every one harvested. Forests are healthy. Globally we are losing forests at a substantial rate million hectares a year, an area about the size of England. Forests are in trouble.

All the bits are true But slightly incomplete, so that it is easy to be confused. Whether by accident or by strategy, a false understanding may be created that could be a challenge to address A common strategy in a conflict, when media attention is needed, or during fundraising campaigns

The result is Confusion Loss of faith and trust Misconceptions And communication difficulties

What Else Stands in the way of sharing mental models, social learning, group process, conflict resolution?

Some Ideas The ability to change our mind when given new information The ability to try something again after the first failure The ability to consider all the data after the media splash one perspective Overconfidence in complex and dependent technologies Overconfidence in stereotypes rather than data

What to do? Let computers make decisions for us? Work on avoiding all previous knowledge? Learn where our biases tend to be?