Abstract
This research tests Gilligan's hypothesis that men are more likely to consider moral dilemmas chiefly in terms of justice and individual rights, whereas women are more likely to be chiefly concerned with questions of care and relationships with others. In addition, we have investigated the effects of dilemma content upon orientation of moral judgment. Protocols from interviews with 50 college students, half women and half men, to three moral dilemmas were coded according to moral orientation. Results indicated that both moral orientations were widely used by both men and women, but that women were more likely to employ prodominantly care considerations. In a test of mean differences in proportion of justice responses, content of the specific moral dilemma showed a strong influence upon moral reasoning. Results suggest that both gender and situational factors need to be considered in our understanding of moral reasoning.
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The authors wish to thank Lita Furby for her comments on the manuscript.
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Rothbart, M.K., Hanley, D. & Albert, M. Gender differences in moral reasoning. Sex Roles 15, 645–653 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288220
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288220