Dynamics of moral judgments in young soldiers during the period of military service

We have conducted an empirical study of the dynamics of the level of moral judgments in the military. Two groups of Missile Defense Force soldiers present the sample: preparing for demobilization (n=30) and new recruits (n=25). As the methods we used specially developed semi-structured interview modeling the situation of moral choice, and the questionnaire in order to assess the socio-psychological characteristics of the military and their attitude to service. The young soldiers have a positive trend in the development of moral judgments and a greater differentiation in the estimates. It is shown that the old-timers in comparison with newcomers have intensive development of group-oriented and prosocial moral reasoning. It presumably connected with successful adaptation to military service, following the manual, the ability to cope with aggressive impulses, flexibility and value assessments in decision-making. It is noted that educational work with young recruits should include measures to increase group cohesion in the army.

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