Cognitive and behavioural frequencies of justice and care on moral dilemmas between males and females

George Varvatsoulias

Abstract


Moral reasoning refers to individuals' cognitive, emotional and behavioural understandings regarding everyday practices and relationships with others. Moral reasoning touches upon personal beliefs of human interaction the way these are cultivated through mores, principles and values in given societies. The objective of this empirical research was to question males' and females' moral orientations on justice and care. To this aim, participants were distributed dilemmas in a form of stories in which they were asked to offer their personal consideration. It was found that male participants have responded in relation to a justice-based orientation, while females to a care-based one. The interpretation of the findings showed that males tend to reply on moral dilemmas in association with the moral reasoning of justice, whereas females in association with care.


Keywords


moral reasoning, dilemmas, justice, care

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References


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