Moral Reasoning among Estonian and Finnish Adolescents

Abstract

The moral reasoning of 14- and 17-year-old Finnish adolescents ( n = 1,230) who grew up in Finland and experienced Western individualistic educational practices was compared with that of adolescents ( n = 428) of the same age who grew up in Estonia during the period of Soviet socialism with collectivist educational practices. The same factors of moral reasoning were found in both samples: legitimization (attributing the responsibility to external factors), relativism, absoluteness, and universality of high moral standards. The results showed that the moral reasoning of Finnish participants had a higher internal consistency, whereas two levels were likely to exist in Estonia: a set of universal standards for what people ought to do and a different set for personal applications. The finding is discussed in terms of primary principles of collectivist education (i.e., a collective consciousness, a relative insignificance of family and parenting, and a lack of primary developmental context) as well as in the light of historical processes underlying the present time.