The association of sex, sex-role, and sex of protagonist with level of moral judgement

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of sex, sex-role, and sex of protagonist on moral judgement. Subjects for this study consisted of 80 female and 80 male undergraduate students (mean age= 20.3 years). Test instruments consisted of a demographic questionnaire, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, and Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT: original and sex-reversed forms). The principal study design was a two (sex) by two (sexrole: androgynous vs. sex-typed) by two (sex of protagonist) analysis of variance on level of principled thinking. Results did not support the notion that the DIT is biased in favour of men, and that women are disadvantaged by the male set of protagonists. Sex differences in decision making were noted. Generally, sex-role emerged as the more significant variable in relating to aspects of moral judgement. Implications of this study include: 1) developing a more sensitive moral judgement test of subjects' moral orientations 2) more systematic study of sex differences in decision making; 3) exploring the value of masculine traits in coping with moral dilemmas; and 4) experimenting with alternative sex-role measures.