Cultural dimensions and moral reasoning: a comparative study

Abstract

Purpose-Moral reasoning research in Western cultures is grounded primarily in Kohlbergian cognitive moral theory. Enumerable investigations about the psychological determinants and cultural dimensions of moral reasoning have provided significant insights about Western decision making and contributed to Western organizational behavioral theory. However, inquiry about these same constructs and how they may interact with moral reasoning in non-Western Southeast Asian trading partner countries has not provided comparable insights. The purpose of this paper is to remedy that by comparing predominant cultural dimensions to levels of moral reasoning in student and graduate populations in Thailand and the USA. Design/methodology/approach-The Defining Issues Test (DIT) measurement of moral reasoning (Rest et al., 1999) and the Values Survey Module (VSM) 2013 (Hofstede and Minkov, 2013) were translated for the first time into Thai, pilot tested, and used to gather cultural and moral reasoning data in Thailand. The same English version instruments were used to gather comparable data among similarly matched US samples. Comparisons are presented in this paper, and differences in approaches to moral decision making are discussed. Findings-Findings indicate that there are both significant psychological and cultural differences between the two nations that affect moral reasoning. Predominant status quo moral reasoning predominates in Thailand, while a polarity between self-interest moral reasoning and higher level abstract idealistic moral reasoning predominates in the USA. Potential cultural influences on these moral reasoning tendencies are discussed. Research limitations/implications-While findings can be generalized to the sample populations of Thai and US undergraduate students and graduate students who are in the workplace, the considerable time required to complete the two survey instruments precluded inclusion of higher level, veteran managers and public policy administrators in the study. Alternative survey methods need to be developed for investigating these subjects in order to make the combined findings more robust and widely generalizable. Practical implications-Careful attention to cultural and linguistic variables provided for thorough and effective first-time translations of the DIT and the VSM 2013 from English into the Thai language. These two instruments are now available to other researchers who wish to investigate cultural dimensions and moral reasoning through other research designs. The Thai-version DIT can be obtained from the copyright holder, Center for the Study of Ethical Development (http://ethicaldevelopment.ua.edu/). The Thai-version of the VSM can be obtained through the Geert Hofstede website (www.geerthofstede.nl/). Social implications-These findings can help researchers in Western and non-Western countries to better understand the foundations upon which moral reasoning in the two countries is grounded, and can provide insights about how individuals in quite different cultures perceive ethical d...

Attitudes toward privacy in social network and moral development of nursing students

“…(16) Furthermore, the participants in this study belong to Confucius' moral system, which was based upon the empathy and understanding of others, rather than the divinely ordained rules. (18) The people at postconventional level hold universal ethical principle and pursue universal rightness and justice. At post-conventional level, people differentiate their self-esteem from the rules and expectations of others and define personal values in terms of self-chosen principles.…”

Cross-Cultural Issues and Human Resources Management in BRIC Countries

“…A studies done by (Andreassi, Lawter, Brockerhoff, & J. Rutigliano, 2014;Eskildsen, Kristensen, & Gjesing Antvor, 2010) show that national culture impacted job satisfaction among employees. The cultural dimensions may also explain about leadership (Mihaela, 2014), work-balanced and conflict (Farivar, Cameron, & Yaghoubi, 2016), the linkage between business strategies, cultures and compensation (Verma & Sharma, 2019), and moral reasoning in making the decision (Wilhelm & Gunawong, 2016).…”

Validity and Reliability Instrumen of Noble Character of Adolescence

“…The right limit of behavior is that we do not do something wrong, whereas moral prohibitions refer to violations that we must avoid [13]. And the stages of developing Kohlberg's model reasoning abilities are based on cognitive development by Jean Piaget [14], by dividing into the three lowest levels namely pre-conventional (childhood), conventional middle level (late childhood and early adolescence), and the highest postconventional (adolescence and so on) [15]. Pre-conventional stage explains that moral values are not internalized in individuals, controllers are gifts and personal interests and punishments, conventional levels of morality are internalized and size comes from outside or other people, such as parents or punishment.…”