Collectivism in Moral Development

Abstract

This study investigated the relations among ethnicity, moral reasoning, and collectivism by administering the Defining Issues Test and the Individualism-Collectivism Scale to 165 Euro-American and Asian graduate students. To the data were applied analyses of variance, correlation, t test, and regression analyses. The analysis indicated that the Asian subjects had lower P scores on the Defining Issues Test so Kohlberg's model may not incorporate the concerns and experience of Asian people. The study also showed that scores on collectivism were not necessarily associated with low P scores.