Chinese and Canadian Adults’ Categorization and Evaluation of Lie- and Truth-Telling about Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors

Abstract

This study examined cross-cultural differences in Chinese and Canadian adults’ concepts and moral evaluations of lying and truth-telling about prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Although Canadian adults categorized lies concealing one’s prosocial deeds as lies, their Chinese counterparts did not. Also, Chinese adults rated deception in such situations positively while rating truth-telling in the same situations negatively. These cross-cultural differences appear to reflect differential emphases on the virtue of modesty in the two cultures.