Course:ELEC300E/CaseStudies/PeerEvaluations
Context: Emotions and Care Ethics
| Peer Evaluation Stress |
|---|
 |
| Content / Topics |
| Needs and Emotions |
| Engineering Education |
| Relevant Analysis Strategies or Tools |
| Decision Impact Assessment |
| Plutchik's Wheel |
One approach to moral philosophy (and ethical decision making) is care ethics. Care ethics centers on understanding interpersonal relationships and emotions, and emphasizes personal compassion and empathy over more abstract ideas of morality.
Understanding emotions, relationships and needs is important for practicing care ethics.
- Emotions: Emotions are important! They have been shown to impact the cognitive abilities and academic performance of college students. They can impact physical health. They influence people's decisions and reactions. Plutchik's wheel of emotions identifies eight emotions, which can be combined or felt in varying intensities. Review Plutchik's wheel in Figure 1.
- Empathy: The ability to take the perspective of others and feel their emotions.
- Needs: Maslow defined five categories of needs that drive human action. Review Maslow's hierarchy in Figure 2.
Case: Peer Evaluation Stress
Read about the same event, told through three different perspectives:
Lisa
Lisa sat alone in the library, the signals and systems textbook open in front of her, pages covered in highlighter and sticky notes. She had been here almost every evening for weeks. Failing this course again wasn’t an option - she’d already stumbled through it twice, and another failure could push back her graduation or worse. So, she poured everything into mastering the material, telling herself that this time had to be different.
The group project for her other course had suffered. She hadn’t meant to let things slide, especially not with Emily in the group. Working with a friend should’ve made things easier, but each time she missed a meeting or skimmed a task, guilt tugged at her. She knew Emily had picked up the slack more than once, and Lisa hadn’t said much. There never seemed to be a good moment to explain how much pressure she was under.
Now, with the project complete and evaluations submitted, Lisa tried not to wonder what Emily had written on her peer evaluation. Deep down, she didn’t expect a favorable review and she knew she hadn’t earned one. Still, part of her hoped Emily would understand. Not excuse it but understand.
Emily
Emily stared at the peer evaluation form on her screen, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. The project had been stressful, and while she and a few others had put in long hours refining the final report, her friend Lisa had been largely absent, offering vague promises but delivering little. Still, as she considered what to write, a wave of hesitation washed over her. She thought back to how much it had meant to her to be placed in a group with someone she already knew. Working with Lisa had made the course feel less intimidating, more comfortable. The group chats, the occasional shared laughter during late-night Zoom calls… After a long pause, Emily gave Lisa a positive evaluation. It wasn’t entirely accurate, but she reasoned that the group had pulled through, and maintaining harmony mattered to her. As she clicked submit, she felt a mix of unease and relief, quietly hoping the gesture would help preserve the connection she valued.
Professor Morgan
Professor Morgan scrolled through the peer evaluations, her eyes pausing on Emily’s submission. The numbers didn’t sit right. Lisa’s contribution, from her own observations and other group members’ comments, had been minimal: an occasional presence in meetings, little follow-through on assigned tasks. Yet Emily had given her top marks. It wasn’t just generous, it was dishonest.
A tightness formed in her chest. This was exactly the kind of situation the peer evaluation system was meant to prevent. Students like Emily were expected to show integrity, and Lisa... Well, Lisa had clearly leaned too hard on the benefit of the doubt. The syllabus was clear: peer evaluations could impact individual grades. Adjusting scores for both students would be within her rights: Lisa for neglecting her responsibilities, and Emily for compromising the evaluation process. Other students had taken the task seriously; letting this slide would be unfair to them.
Still, she couldn’t ignore what she knew about the semester so far. Signals and Systems had broken more than a few students this term, and Lisa had been flagged by advisors for academic concerns. And Emily, quiet, reliable Emily, this was the first time her integrity had ever come into question. Was this poor judgment or a deeper issue?
Morgan closed the spreadsheet and sat back in her chair; her eyes fixed on the blank screen.
Recommended Readings
- 4 minute video, "What is Care Ethics": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbmpu33xWxo&time_continue=135&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Discussion Questions
Here are a few questions to help you begin analyzing the issues discussed in this case study. The purpose of these questions is to prompt reflection and further consideration: there are no right or wrong answers!
- Contradictory viewpoints and outcomes: Which emotions is each person feeling (and how do you know)? What needs is each person responding to in this case study? How do their emotional experiences and needs impact their decision making?
- Emotional Responses: Do you think emotions and compassion undermine ethical decision making, or are they an important part of ethical decision making, or both? How about in this case study specifically?
- Positive action: Care ethics is focused on applied practice and action, rather than abstract principles or intentions ("care implicitly suggests that it will lead to some type of action" writes care ethicist Joan Tronto). What could practicing care look like for the people involved in this case study?
- Interruptions and invitations: How would recognizing their own emotions - or the emotions and needs of others - help Emily, Lisa and Morgan through the decision making process?
- Physical connections: Emotions are physical experiences (which explains in part, how they influence health and cognitive function). What physical sensations do you associate with the emotional responses in Question 1?
- Social and Historical Context: 'Care ethics' is sometimes called 'Feminist Care Ethics', and is associated with feminist philosophy. How does this approach to ethics relate to what you know about feminism and gender inequality?
- Positive Practices: What is one concrete a practice that you could adopt in response to this case study, in your personal, academic or professional life that would help you be a more effective engineer?