This study was done to assess whether sex-role influences moral decision-making. 71 subjects took the Bem Sex-role Inventory and a multiple-choice questionnaire based on Kohlberg's moral dilemmas. Researchers predicted that masculine subjects would base their answers to Kohlberg's dilemmas on law-and-order type justice, feminine subjects would base their answers on empathy and caring for others, and androgynous and undifferentiated subjects would select both law and empathy based responses. Sex-role was not significantly related to moral decision-making.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BemS. L. (1975) Sex role adaptability: one consequence of psychological androgyny. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 634–643.
2.
BemS. L. (1981) Gender schema theory: a cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88, 354–364.
3.
BussyK.MaughanB. (1982) Gender differences in moral reasoning. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 42, 701–706.
4.
GibbsJ. C.ArnoldK. D.BurkhartJ. E. (1984) Sex differences in the expression of moral judgment. Child Development, 55, 1040–1043.
5.
GibbsJ. C.SchnellS. V. (1985) Moral development “versus” socialization: a critique. American Psychologist, 40, 1071–1080.
6.
GilliganC. (1982) Why should a woman be more like a man?Psychology Today, 10(6), 68–77.
7.
HoffmanM. L. (1977) Sex differences in empathy and related behaviors. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 712–722.
8.
HolsteinC. B. (1976) Irreversible, stepwise sequence in the development of moral judgment: a longitudinal study of males and females. Child Development, 47, 51–61.
9.
KohlbergL. (1984) The psychology of moral development: the nature and validity of moral stages. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row.
10.
LernerR. M. (1986) Concepts and theories of human development. New York: Random House.
11.
MaccobyE. A.JacklinC. N. (1974) The psychology of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univer. Press.
12.
PedersenD. M.BondB. L. (1985) Shifts in sex-role after a decade of cultural change. Psychological Reports, 57, 43–48.
13.
WalkerL. J. (1984) Sex differences in the development of moral reasoning: a critical review. Child Development, 55, 677–691.
