We Are Not Like Them. They Are Not Like Us. Cultural Dimensions and Moral Reasoning in Thailand and the United States
Keywords:
cultural values, culture, decision-making theory, moral reasoning, ThailandAbstract
Problem: Innumerable investigations about the psychological determinants and cultural dimensions of moral reasoning have provided significant insights about Western decisionmaking and contributed to Western organizational behavioral theory. However, inquiry about these same constructs in non-Western Southeast Asian trading partner countries has not provided comparable insights.
Purpose: The present study remedies that by comparing predominant cultural dimensions and moral reasoning in populations in Thailand and the United States.
Method: The Defining Issues Test measurement of moral reasoning (Rest, Narvaez, Bebeau, & Thoma, 1999) and the Value Survey Module (VSM) 2013 (Hofstede & Minkov, 2013) were translated for the first time into Thai, pilot tested, and used to gather cultural and moral reasoning data in Thailand and the United States.
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 United States. Potential cultural influences on these moral reasoning tendencies are discussed.
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